The Machine
by Imitation Vanilla Flavor x2
Summary: One of many pointless Undertale fan fictions, that features the following: Pointless technobabble, random time travel shenanigans, the millionth attempt to explain Gaster, minimal shipping, Sans, an inconsistent distribution of comedy, occasional dogs, a list that's trying to reach the character limit, characters, taking itself too seriously, and not taking itself seriously.
1. Chapter 1 - Incipit

I understand why Asgore waited so long to hire a new royal scientist. The previous one... Dr. Gaster... his brilliance was irreplaceable.

However, his life… was cut short.

One day, his experiments went wrong, and…

One day, he fell into his own creation, and…

One day, he vanished without a trace.

...

They say he shattered across time and space.

Well, I needn't gossip. After all, it's rude to talk about someone who's listening.

* * *

Doctor Alphys carefully stepped across the icy ground of the town of Snowdin. The floor itself gave the illusion of pure snow; but underneath the slight dusting were layers upon layers of ice adding to the possibility of slipping. It was the middle of the night, although not many monsters would be able to tell. The Doctor had been hired just a week ago, and whoever had been the previous doctor, Alphys didn't particularly remember, had refused to keep the cameras functional. To be fair, it had been forever since a human came through the Underground, but that was no reason for all of monsterkind to let their guard down.

So, before Alphys could start any real experimenting, she had to wander endlessly around the entire underground and repair eighty percent of the cameras; most of which were hidden in extremely inconvenient locations. She was admittedly anxious to get to actual experimentation, and after having her patience thinned from the previous days of repairing said cameras, had decided to stay up late and get the task done with more speed.

The nearest camera was in the most convenient of locations: it was hidden between evergreens towards the passage to Waterfall. It was just to the left of a two-story house that had been half-decorated with holiday lights, most of which were not plugged in. The trees were behind the structure, so the Royal Scientist had to navigate around a set of twin mailboxes.

She pushed aside a limb of one of the trees and leaned into the foliage, looking for the device. As she withdrew her cellphone from her coat pocket and tried to switch on a repair tool, there was a loud clang of metal-on-metal from somewhere behind her. This was followed by an even louder popping sound, and after a silent moment, a hiss. Alphys let out a shrill squeak of surprise, her hand falling from the tree limb and causing the branch to recoil back into its normal position. She backed out of the foliage as quickly as possible, shaking off a layer of snow that had gathered on her shoulders.

The noise was coming from a door that seemed to be camouflaged with the back of the house. Now that she actually noticed it, the door was standing slightly ajar. The scientist, in response, dashed to the door far too quickly. She slid across the ice and ended up throwing herself down a steep staircase that had been concealed behind it, causing her spectacles to fly from her face and further down the staircase descending in front of her.

Once more there was another noise, this one more identifiable: a startled sound from wherever the back of the room was. Suddenly, the doctor found herself hovering midair a few inches above the ground. A skeleton eyed the newcomer from the end of the room warily. He was standing atop a purple tarp that lined the floor surrounded by machine parts and various tools. Some of the mentioned materials were unrecognizable by Alphys, and she was sure that there were even more similar to them scattered throughout the room.

Before the doctor had a chance to protest the use of magic, she had both feet and her tail on the ground again. " **heh. sorry, guess your entrance just rattled me a bit.** " The doctor could only stare at the blue and white blur in confusion. Eventually she recovered. "S-sorry… I just.. uh.. h-heard something, and I thought someone might be in s-some type of d-danger…?"She spoke as if her sentence was a question, dragging her vowels a bit too much. The skeleton shrugged. He took a few steps forward, knelt down, and handed Alphys her glasses back. The lizard quickly slid them onto her face, blinking at him gratefully. "Th-thank you."

" **i don't see any need for you to go that far. i just gave you your glasses back. though, i guess if you look at the situation through different eyes-** " The skeleton left the sentence unfinished and grinned, although Alphys wasn't sure whether he'd been grinning beforehand or not. " **anyway, i'm fine, just been messin' around is all**."

Now able to clearly see her surroundings, she noticed the tall machine towering behind the skeleton. "O-Oh! I see!" She didn't need more than one glance to tell that it was in ruin; but despite this she didn't have the faintest inkling of what it was. Curiosity took its hold for a moment. With only a brief review of what was to be said, she blurted out, "Wh-What is that anyway..?"

" **this? its nothin' special, just something i need to fix is all.** "

"O-Oh, w-wow. Y-You look like you really have your work cut out for you, then." As Alphys glanced back to the machine and took a moment to actually observe it, having noticed it looked slightly familiar. Although, from where she might have seen fragments of the design, she was unsure.

" **uh-huh, it'll be worth it though, if i can get it to work anyway.** "

Alphys' coming response was based on two conditions: firstly; it was late, and the doctor wasn't in the best mind for considering everything her suggestion was to entail. Secondly, as previously mentioned, the doctor hadn't done in real meaningful work in a long time, so even if it was just a favor…

"W-Well, um… m-maybe I c-could help you with that."

The skeleton's head jolted back a centimeter, and Alphys wasn't sure if she had imagined the subtle movement or not.

"I-I mean… if you don't mind." She tapped one of her claws against the palm of her hand twice. "It l-looks interesting, and I haven't seen much like th-that machine b-before, plus it s-seems somewhat im-important. Y-You even s-said that you have a-a lot of work to do, so maybe w-we could-"

" **okay."**

She took a second.

"W-wait… r-really?"

" **yeah, sure, why not**."

Alphys gave the skeleton an awkward laugh. "Riiiight, I mean you s-said it yourself! Why n-not?"

" **i'm sans. sans the skeleton**."

"O-Oh! Right!" Apparently, the basic act of introducing herself had completely slipped from Alphys' mind. "Alphys. I-I'm the new royal scientist."

The skeleton nodded. " **it'll be good to have another set of hands; i've been workin' at this forever and i keep getting caught up on something or other. honestly, it's gettin' real frustrating.** "

"O-Oh, I'm sure it's n-not that bad." Alphys bluffed. The machine was clearly a mess. "D-Do you have instructions or s-something?"

Sans chuckled in response to this. " **i have blueprints, but you wouldn't be able to read them.** "

 _Illegible blueprints_? It took the scientist a moment, but she recalled why the machine looked sligthly familiar. "A-actually, I think I've seen some images of prototypes for this thing before. In my lab, I have a few old blueprints from the scientist before me. Parts of this machine look familiar to what I could decipher from those documents." Of course, she hadn't been able to decipher much more than a few basic images.

" **yeah, i guess that makes sense. i'll read out what i have for you, howbow dah?** " The skeleton somehow already had the blueprints in his hand. He swung himself onto the counter and lazily slouched against the wall, leaving the lizard to approach to device. A plate of metal had been unscrewed so that the lizard was able to crawl into the machine. "O-Okay…" Alphys quite frankly had no idea what she was looking at. She reached for her phone and flipped it on so the area could be a little lighter and so that she could access the tools she had programmed into it.

" **alright, i'm pretty sure that the location you're in is where the machine generates magical energy**." There was a moment of silence. " **i mean, i think there's different ways to generate magical energy, besides just the natural energy. ya know, 4.186 joules equals a calorie, and a little over triple that digit equals one unit of raw magical energy. i suppose, just by looking at it, this part probably heats up enough and then transfers that heat to this piece over here.** " Sans gestured to a certain cylinder. Alphys had to take a moment.

"W-Who uses m-methods like that anymore anyway? W-Wasn't that j-just one of those attempts of finding an alternative way to create m-magical energy way back when?"

" **somethin' like that**."

"A-According to your theory, that's the composition of magic electricity when it's packed into a small body, I th-think."

It was odd that the machine would have to call for that amount of magic. There was a small broken container-like mechanism made out of platinum that was surrounded by an array of small pistons. To the side of the container there were large tubes that seemed to have some strange system of metal and wire built inside them. There were tubes shooting out from the right and top of the strange container. Alphys was already entangled in a few wires, herself, much to the poor lizard's embarrassment. Scattered among the mesh of cords was corroded metal that made the whole image far less clear, and on top of that seemed to serve no purpose. " **okay, so according to this, the container needs to be able to be compressed, and immediately afterwards reverted to the state it was in originally.** "

Alphys bit her lower lip and thought it over. "H-How are we supposed to do that?" The skeleton shrugged, although there was no way the doctor would be able to see it. "Wh-what are we t-trying to do here, anyway?"

" **from what i can tell, we're generating magic or something.** "

"Why would we be generating magic b-by crushing something? Are we trying to convert the motion into magical energy or s-something?" That had to be wrong, if the machine called for that much magic to be in such a small place- … wait a moment.

"Wh-what if we're not generating magic here?"

" **well the blueprint says something about magic…** "

"W-What if… we're c-compressing magic in this b-box thing?" She gestured to the previously mentioned container. "Th-these tubes could u-um.. they could transfer magical energy into it, and the pistons c-could compress the energy down."

" **Wouldn't the magical energy just flow out into the tubes beside it**?"

"M-Maybe that's what this d-device is for?"

" **what device**?"

"There's some metal structuring inside the wires leading to it."

" **oh… guess I missed that**."

The skeleton didn't seem to have any type of flashlight on him, so Alphys concluded he might not have seen it in the dark.

" **if it's not generating any energy, where does it come from, then**?"

Alphys tapped a few buttons on her phone and activated her camera app. She slowly navigated it through one of the trails of cylinders. Once she reached the end of it, she tapped at the button. "O-One of the cylinders l-leads to a regular el-electricity generator, but it's sh-short circuited. It l-looked like it was pretty advanced for a generator."

She carefully guided the little camera down the rightward facing conduit. The phone eventually displayed the same pattern that had decorated the wall of the room she had seen before she got under the machine.. "I-It looks a bit like the other one is supposed to c-connect to something... maybe t-the magic source that you mentioned?"

" **Yeah, i s'pose that makes sense.** "

Alphys went back and observed the mass of metal within the pipes. She was almost convinced that the structure had been meant to shut off the pipes after energy had been supplied to the container. "I th-think that's b-busted, as well." Sans didn't question the out-of-context comment. "Wh-What even happened to the machine?"

" **it's kinda... hard to explain.** "

"I s-suppose we should work on the electrical generator." The was the most familiar looking device to the scientist. Everything else was, to some degree, foreign to her. She had barely recognized the design for the pistons earlier, and they were being used to crush metal as opposed to being used to jostle liquids. The lizard's head was beginning to ache. It was getting far too late for this, and she didn't want to think about the machine much longer, despite hardly having started. Alphys slowly crawled out from under the machine and ended up getting one of the spikes on her head caught up in a large entanglement of cords. After ten seconds of trying to get the wires off of her spike gently, she resorted to forcibly clawing off what she could.

" **sorry 'bout that.** " Sans watched as she unraveled the coils from around her head. " **thanks though, ac-cord-ing to what you said there's a few more questions that need to be unraveled**."

Alphys choose to ignore the word play, although it took a lot of her willpower not to throw something at Sans. "R-Really? I th-think I m-made things make a b-bit more sense." She instantly felt as if she had given herself way too much credit.

" **well, for one, we have no idea where the magical energy is coming from, just that we need a lot of it**."

"R-Right…"

" **not to mention that if this isn't used to create energy, it makes the rest of the machine more confusing**."

"O-Oh…"

" **hey, no pressure. i've had to restart a few times already, no need to sweat it. i think you helped out well enough**."

"O-Oh! Thanks then." Alphys readjusted her glasses and assumed an awkward smile.

" **why are you thankin' me? you're the one who threw me a bone**."

"Heh… heh… right… um…"

" **if you don't mind.. can I ask you something**?"

"S-Sure!"

" **can you come back to work on this sometime? it's kinda important, and you seem to know what you're doing**."

"O-Oh… uh… sure! I d-d-don't see why not."

" **cool. i guess i'll just call send you a message on undernet when i need ya.** "

"A-Alright…"

" **Nice. hopefully, with you helping me, i'll get a net-gain**."

Alphys eventually saw herself up the steep stairway and stepped out into the damp snow. After a few moments of scattered thoughts, Alphys begrudgingly decided that she might as well finish the job of fixing up the cameras again. After all, she knew she would regret not finishing it if she didn't do it tonight.


	2. Chapter 2 - Ad Libitum

"Oh! Alphys, _darling~_!" A certain flamboyant robot rolled down the lab at an angle at which he should've fallen over. "Alphys! What do you think you're doing?!" The lizard had fallen asleep at her keyboard. On the monitor in front of her was a concluded recording of the mid-season finale of the first season of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie, the anime-turned video game, or maybe vice-versa? The robot didn't care to remember. The address bar consisted of an endless and ongoing chain of the letter B that would probably take a good while to clear with just backspace alone.

The robot played a booing track in protest. His monitor displayed an exclamation point for a moment, and then he played it at a wonderfully ear blasting volume. "Ack!" Alphys reared her head up from the keyboard and ended the stream of b's. "Wh-what was that for?!" The robot wrapped a hand around the lizard. "Alphys, darling. I noticed you haven't been giving me much attention, recently!"

"M-Mettaton, I've j-just gotten the lab, so I've been cleaning it up!"

"Sure, sure, darling, but doing nothing won't pay the bills will it? You yourself promised to help me with my stardom, didn't you? Besides, I haven't seen you working on my body recently!" Mettaton's voice sounded slightly unhappy.n d"N-Not right now… please…" The royal scientist whimpered.

"Well you've had your royal beauty rest; come on good doctor, don't you think it's time for this star's stunning debut?"

"W-Well, I g-guess…"

"Good, now I've already got us a broadcasting crew! I've forwarded the bill to you, of course, doctor, you know that I, the best star, slip out of as many fees as possible!"

"W-Wait, you d-did what…?"

"Come now, the camera is waiting!" The robot grabbed Alphys by the arm and dragged her out through the door.

The pair took the elevator and rolled into the Hotland Resort. The scientist followed behind begrudgingly, at least fully awake by now. The both of them arrived in the restaurant within the resort, and Alphys took a seat at one of the tables. The robot rolled himself up a ramp and onto a stage that was traditionally used for comedy skits. This time it was decorated with a desk with three golden letters branded onto it. Next to it was a singular lounge chair. The stage was in stark contrast to the rest of the blue room; carpeted in red. Behind the robot were windows casting a yellow light on him from behind. Two cameras were set up for the robot. Alphys watched as he somehow slid on a singular yellow tie for his performance. He picked up the papers in front of it and hit the mass of script against the desk in order to look professional. "Alright darlings! Roll the cameras, if you would please!"

There was a brief clicking noise and then he began. "Welcome, darlings-" The robot dropped the papers onto the desk dramatically, "-to the very first edition of the fabulous talk show, Glamorous Gossip with a Human Eradication Robot! This is the broadcast where we hear the most breathtaking news from me and all sorts of guests- but mostly me! Today's topic, and also our very first topic if I might add, the strange epidemic that had begun involving monsters that have fallen down, and how it might be related to the production of Puppydough Ice Cream!"

Alphys tuned out the robot as he began to ramble out nonsense that had no basis in any form of reason whatsoever. Her phone made a quiet bleeping sound.

 _ **Humerist42:**_ _hey there_

 _ **ALPHYS**_ _: Sans?!1?!_

 _ **Humerist42**_ _: yup_

 _ **ALPHYS**_ _: U want me 2 visit now? kinda busy tbh_ _（_ _;_ _＿_ _;_ _）_

 _ **Humerist42**_ _: it's cool. id rather u come help out tonight anyway._

 _ **ALPHYS**_ _: O. that works. ^.^_

Alphys looked up from her phone to see that Mettaton was still rambling on about something. "And that's why, in my opinion, you should never let suspicious dogs attempt to make edible food! I mean just look at the tragedy that's occurred!"

 _ **ALPHYS**_ _: Not 2 be rude or anything, but it's been like a week or something. Didn't u say that this was a big deal or?_

 _ **Humerist42:**_ _yeah, guess so_

 _ **ALPHYS**_ _: Why did u take so long 2 text me then?_

 _ **Humerist42:**_ _well i just havent been focused on it recently. I mean yeah its important but i was startin to slack off. kinda hard to break habits._

 _ **ALPHYS:**_ _(_ _。ヘ_ _°) but isnt it really important to u tho? Liek, i get it sorta, but..._

"Alphys, darling! This is your cue!" Alphys snapped upward from her table. "O-Oh, right! S-Sorry!" The lizard scurried up onto the stage and the robot escorted the lizard to her chair.

"And now dear viewers, if you would please put your hands together and welcome our special guest, the newly hired royal scientist and my inventor, Doctor Alphys!" The robot extended his arms into the air and starting clapping; he played a recording along with it for flourish.

The doctor shrunk into her chair. "U-Uh… hi…" Mettaton played another laugh track. "Now, now doctor, where's your energy? Where's your enthusiasm? Where's your smile? We're on live TV, you know!"

"O-Of course." Alphys sat up straight for once in her life, much to the robot's pleasure, and she pushed in her glasses in an attempt to be professional. "Now darling, there are these absurd papers that claim that the Capital actually isn't running out of space to support the population. What was it… something about population therum? Let's not sweat the details, what's really important is that we get an expert opinion on the matter, don't you agree? And who's more fit than the underground's very own royal scientist?"

"O-Oh! Okay! I can do that." Alphys swung her tail around her feet and inhaled. "W-Well, the paper claims th-that as society advances the population will actually start-"

"Now, now, doctor. What do you think you're doing? We don't want to bore the audience with a whole Hotland's worth of summary! We've got to stay engaged, just hit us with the facts! Is it true or not, doctor?"

"W-Well… probably not, you s-see that theory is true for some of us but c-certain monsters are well… different. S-Some produce more than one offspring when reproducing, the underground s-still needs a lot of workers, a-and for some the average f-family is much more than-"

"Yes, yes, of course darling. So as you can clearly see, not to be the bearer of bad news, but this theory is clearly false! Honestly, were they really trying to just dismiss the problem so that we may never deal with it in the future? How irresponsible!"

"W-Well-"

"That should be enough science to meet the educational quota! Now let's get into something really interesting!" Alphys shuffled of the stage as the cameras focused exclusively on the robot. "Here's a good one! There's rumor that all the Temmies of the waterfall, save for the one they call Bob, of course, are gathering into a tower formation for mysterious reasons! For instance, one monster claims that he saw-"

Alphys sank back into the chair and checked her phone.

 _ **ALPHYS:**_ _(_ _。ヘ_ _°) but isnt it real important to u thou? Liek, i get it sorta but…_

 _ **Humerist42:**_ _i guess so._

 _ **Humerist42:**_ _but i guess i just sorta started to burn out_

 _ **Humerist42**_ _: until recently_

 _ **Humerist42:**_ _the other night was kinda impromptu? ya know?_

 _ **Humerist42:**_ _not sure if that's a good way to describe it._

 _ **ALPHYS:**_ _SORRY! HAD SOMETHING TO DO_

 _ **Humerist42:**_ _it's cool._

 _ **ALPHYS**_ _: O, OKay thanks_

 _ **Humerist42**_ _: also before i forget, can you bring over some papers from your lab._ _Some should still be in the lab, they're the ones with the over-elaborate illustrations and the strange symbols as an excuse for writing._

 _ **ALPHYS**_ _: o, yeah i think iv seen some of them. I can do dat \=^.^=/_

 _ **Humerist42:**_ _k thx, i'll see u then_

 _ **ALPHYS:**_ _got it_

"-she claims that the creatures are doing a rarely seen ritual in hope of luring humans underground! Personally, I find that rather absurd myself, but my good audience, sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction!" Alphys felt that about now would be a good time to pocket her phone and watch the robot's meaningless ramblings and eccentric gestures. So she rested her head on her arms and half-watched the robot, half tuned him out…. And forgoing the pocketing of her phone she checked Undernet every few minutes in a vain hope that she'd see something new. The doctor was truly the master of self-control.

"Thank you, dear viewers! For tuning in for the entirety- well maybe not the entirety, but let's be truthful here, who would change the channel- Anyway, thank you for tuning in to the entirety of the first episode of the marvelous Gossip with a Human Eradication Robot! Until next time, same time, same channel, toodles!" The robot eventually rolled down off to stage and behind the doctor. "Well, dear, doctor, I do hope you weren't too distracted… this was my big debut after all!" The machine used two lines to imitate and eyebrow rais on his monitor. Alphys slid out of her chair. "S-Sorry… It's just kind of early…" plus the doctor had no interest in the content the robot was producing.

"Well, well, welly, it's nice of you to at least somewhat admit to what you were doing, but seriously, I thought you wanted to _help_ me become a star."

"R-Right, w-we will work on it! I'm just kind of out of it. I just got an important job and-"  
"I suppose I understand, but next time darling, I expect you to care more about me! You get the big picture?"

"Yeah, I get it, I get it."

"Good, now doctor, if you would, we've got a body to work on!"


	3. Chapter 3 - Ad Rem

Despite the fact that the doctor was still tired from her busywork and the constant prying of her robotic companion, she had decided that it was still a good idea to follow through with the plans and trek through the snow in the middle of the night. She'd deposited what she could find of the blueprints, spare parts, and some provisions of instant noodles into the dimensional box. It was still a prototype, but she trusted that nothing awful would happen to her supplies.

Luckily for her, the skeleton's house was just at the edge of Snowdin, so she didn't have to walk too far. She stared at the front of the house for a moment. Should she go around back, or… her face soured as she reminded herself of the fact that she always found herself in situations like this.

After wasting time standing in the snow the doctor eventually concluded she might as well try the front door first, after all, if no one opened it then she'd just go around. Though there was always the possibility that Sans could be late to the door and she would've- No, stop overthinking things.

" **heya.** " He'd greeted her at the front door.

"H-Hiya, u-um… I-I'm here now so…"

Sans shrugged. "come in if you want, we'll be swinging around back eventually."

The doctor slid inside the of house. Her first instinct was to climb onto the green couch in front of the television, it was only after that she took in the scenery. For the sake of keeping things brief, it was a two story house, with a small first floor that consisted of a long rectangular living room and a kitchen. The upper floor connected the house to two rooms. This was of course glancing over the oddities like the sprinkled-rock and the sock on the floor. The doctor could see Sans from the corner of her eye; he was getting out a bowl and a package of oatmeal, which he left out on the table.

She quickly realized she was expected to have the blueprints and scrambled to her phone once again. The skeleton came back in time to watch her retrieve the papers from a pocket in space. "huh.. interesting."

"O-Oh! Sorry I knew I should've got them out sooner."

The skeleton chuckled. "nah, that's not it. it's that thing you've made."

"O-Oh! The d-dimensional box? It uses m-magical energy to d-draw f-from other boxes all across the underground, you know, the ones you store stuff in. S-So you can access them an-anywhere."

" **but really, instant noodles? aren't ya, you know the** _ **royal scientist**_ **? i'd expect more."** Sans had noticed the rest of what Alphys had packed.

"I-It's just kind of an old habit really! From a while back! I'm paid well, A-A-Asgore d-definitely wouldn't b-be so-... well… uh… you know."

" **well ya don't have to pack your own food, i'm not gonna starve you."**

Soon the doctor had felt like venturing outside again, the two had exchanged enough mindless banter. As they descended into the basement, Alphys began to speak. "O-Okay so… I've been thinking on it and I got some parts to b-build some new p-piston things. W-We've also gotta work on that electrical energy g-generator too, it's only generating a small amount, and I'm not sure what powers it has; but if we can get it function-"

" **alright, i can work on the pistons. you can get the generator workin'. you said it was pretty small, so i'll remove it for ya**."

Sans briefly swiped the doctor's phone, located the device, and handed it to Alphys as she re-dumped the parts onto the floor. The two grabbed their own tools and set to work. Once they were far enough on their way and had enough confidence in what they were doing, they resumed their conversation.

"S-So um…. It might be a good idea f-for me to know what w-we're making…"

" **heh,** **guess i could tell you**."

Silence.

"So um… what is it?"

" **well, it's kinda insane sounding... but it still pretty important**."

"O-Okay?" Alphys sounded confused.

" **it's supposed to be a time machine**."

"A… time machine...?"

" **yep.** "

"B-But isn't th-that kind of thing r-really d-dangerous t-to m-mess around with? You know, damaging t-the time space continuum and a-all that?"

" **definitely is dangerous, yup**." Sans' voice was still giving off a lighthearted feel.

"Uh…. right…?"

" **Hey, y'know i wouldn't be doing something insane if it wasn't based in good reason**."

"Y-y-yeah…"

" **gosh, guess i messed that up, huh**?"

"N-No! It's not that weird! I'm engineering a human culture-based robot body f-for a ghost!"

" **yeah**?"

"Y-Yeah! It's cool! No big deal! B-Besides a t-time machine c-could b-be really helpful as well… if we r-respect the r-rules and all!"

" **right, if we just played the cards right, we could have the time of our lives**." Sans gave himself a moment to laugh at his own bad joke.

" **hey, thanks for sticking with me on that one, i've gotta hand it to you**." The joke was lost on the scientist, but the skeleton seemed to be enjoying himself, so that was good.

" **so, why you wasting your time with this bag of bones anyway**?"

"H-huh!" Alphys bit her lip. "U-Um… well to be fair, I'm s-sort of dodging some work. I was going to pull an all nighter tonight anyway and um… Oh! A-Asgore also r-really e-encourages this sort of thing, y-you know helping people out around the underground! Y-You know how h-he is..." Plus, Mettaton, could be an awfully demanding friend… it would be nice to befriend someone more lax. Not that Alphys would actually voice that thought.

" **eh, guess that works.** " Alphys had to be silent for a moment as she carefully worked around tiny pieces that could get caught in her claws if she wasn't careful.

" **so, d'ya pull all nighters often?"** Sans inquired.

Alphys took a moment before answering. "W-Well you know, n-new job and all."

" **coffee or tea**?"

This suddenly felt like a work interview. This caused Alphys to answer rapidly. "W-Well, um, l g-guess Asgore likes t-tea!"

" **Yeah, but you aren't asgore."**

"O-Oh, good point…"

" **so, whatever someone else is drinking**. **or maybe you're secretly the king himself, that would definitely goat my attention.** "

"W-WHAT?! N-no way! You've got to b-be kidding me!"

" **heh.. more like you've goatta be kiddin' me."**

After Alphys' embarrassing screeches had died down, the conversation faded out. Of course, it was ignited a few more times on occasion; particularly when one of the two felt things had gotten awkwardly silent one more.

"S-So um… w-what are you interested in?"

" **dunno, does sleep count? That plus a bad joke here and there.** "

"O-Oh… okay…"

" **i have a trombone, but only for… obvious reasons**."

"What r-reasons? J-just for p-puns?"

" **yup."**

"…. A-Anything like um…. anim-... er-..mang-..uh-.. books?"

" **sci-fi clicks with me when I'm in the mood for it, I guess."**

"Oh! What's your favorite?"

Sans shrugged. " **pickin' favorites is always too much work.** "

And again:

"Y-you say you're l-lazy but… you're working pretty hard on this." The doctor mentioned as she was getting to what she hoped would be the conclusion of fixing this piece of the machine.

" **well, this is important. only stress the important things, 's what i always say. 'sides, no need worryin' over somethin' ya can't fix**."

"G-good point…"

…

"Um… why is this so important to you a-anyway? I m-mean, sure, t-time travel and all. . . but i-if what you say is t-true-"

" **to be completely honest with ya, it's slipping my mind at the moment. it'll come to me later, though, don't worry.** "

"O-Oh! S-Sorry, you must be t-tired! It's o-okay, d-don't work t-too hard."

At Sans' insistence, the two worked until they had both concluded their tasks. " **welp, so far so good. i'm gonna put these in place real quick**." Alphys somehow didn't notice the skeleton sliding under the fortress of ruined metal. "Oh, by the way-" his voice was muffled by the matter around him but still audible. " **we didn't use the blueprints today, but can you just leave them on the counter for now**?"

"T-the counter?" Alphys didn't see a single counter in the mess that was the room she was in.

"it's the space drowned in papers."

"O-Oh! Okay." The doctor gently placed the stack atop the mess, making sure that it would stay balanced atop the mound of potential paper cuts.

Eventually Sans returned. " **alright, so far we have an electricity generator that connects to a box, which…uh...** "

"S-Somehow receives m-magical energy, m-much more than normal electricity."

" **right, so they're being compacted, for some reason, by the pseudo-pistons.** "

"M-Maybe they h-have a strange r-reaction when they're being forced together? I'm s-sure I could find something on that."

" **anyway, all of this energy, or this reaction is being used for… somethin'.** "

The scaled monster nodded.

" **so, we've got to fix up the container, figure out how it gets magic, and find a way to get the conduits closed without them bursting so all the energy can be compacted**." The skeleton seemed to sigh, it was hard to tell. " **well, at least we've got a sense of direction**."

"W-Well… I guess I should head back now. I g-guess you'll text me when I should come back?"

" **actually, before ya leave, how about we take advantage of the grub you brought over, eh?** "

"Oh! Sure! I-I don't see why not."

" **Good, I knew ya wouldn't say no. We should ram-en our way up there as pasta possible.** "

Alphys responded with a look that could only be in reaction to the absolutely horrid wordplay that was just displayed. "oh come on, it wasn't that bad."


	4. Chapter 4 - Fons et origo

"No, no darling, that looks _horrible_! The hair is so drab! It's far too spiky!"

Alphys hit her head against the body in front of her.

"Goodness, darling, are you _trying_ to ruin it?"

"Well, I can't really make any progress on creating the body to be actually functional if you keep pestering me about how it looks." The lizard sounded annoyed.

"Well it was you who said you'd make it however I'd like it to be~!"  
"I-I know…"

"Good! Now, for the hair-"

There was a knock on the door of the lab, thank goodness. The doctor instantly sprang away from her work table and opened it for the visitor.

"Howdy. I was just coming to check up on you, doctor. How are things?" The king was smiling down at the hunched over doctor. "O-Oh! H-H-Hiya! A-A-Asgore! Y-Y-Yeah, I-I'm d-d-doing a-alright."

"Golly, are you sure, you seem shaken? Have you been getting rest?"

"Uh…. yeah of course! Why wouldn't I? Eh… heh… heh?" The lizard's smile slowly faded.

The king decided to drop the subject. "That's very good. I hope you are getting used to your new workplace, it looks like everything is coming along well. You've really brightened up the place. It feels much more homely now."

"O-Oh! U-Um… thanks! H-Honestly, i-it's just a f-few posters and b-books. T-That's all."

"No, I think you did an excellent job."

"G-God… r-really?"

The robot had rolled behind Alphys at some point. "My, my, my, Alphys, aren't we nervous today~? I wonder why that is." If the robot's arms had been angular enough to prod Alphys with his non-existent elbows, he would have.

"Well, now, you just tell me when you're ready to start your research, alright, Alphys? I wouldn't want to stress you now." The king invited himself into the lab. "If you do not mind, I would like to look around." Mettaton was the one who offered to show him around, he probably wanted to get sponsorship from the king to promote his newly-founded brand or something. Alphys returned to her chair, quickly beginning to change some file names.

"And this is a poster for an absolutely rubbish television show, which the good doctor is a fan of!" That statement was followed by a deep voice saying, "Doctor? Doctor who?" Alphys caught a few more witty quips after that from the robot. A "heya" broke the stream of comments she had understood, and it took a moment to realize that it wasn't actually Asgore speaking. "O-Oh! S-S-Sans!" The skeleton seemed to have materialized atop her fridge. " **bad time?** "

"U-Uh, n-no it's fine!"

" **cool.** " The skeleton slid down from atop the fridge. " **so, i was thinkin' about a few things.** " He announced. " **i'm pretty sure i've figured out how the machine gets the magical energy.** "

"O-Oh! That's good!"

" **with the amount of energy required to be packed into such a small place, there can only be one solution; you'd have to use the core.** "

"Th-The core? W-what core? I don't remember t-there being a noticeable core of the machine!"

It took a moment for Alphys to reevaluate her statement, after which she facepalmed. "O-Oh! N-No n-normal person has the p-permission to pull m-magical e-energy directly f-from The Core itself, though!"

" **can you name anything else that would give off the amount of magic energy the machine calls for?** "

"W-Well, I guess not, but…"

" **So, we're going to have to pull power into the machine from there**."

"Y-Yes, b-but h-how am I ex-expected to g-get those k-kind of p-permissions?"

"Alphys, are you sure you're alright? You seem to be talking to-" Asgore somehow hadn't noticed the skeleton. "Well, well, welly! Alphys, darling, who might this be?"

"O-Oh… that's r-right… I'm the royal scientist…."

"Darling! That doesn't answer my question!"

" **im sans, sans the skeleton. alphys agreed to help me out with a building project of mine, i was havin' a bit of trouble."**

"Oh, golly, how very kind of you, Alphys! Oh, and you just got your new job, too. It's wonderful to know I made such a good choice in hiring you." Asgore smiled and placed a hand on Alphys' shoulder. "Just don't overwork yourself, alright?" The royal scientist flinched, her face slowly turning red. "O-O-Oh, g-god. R-R-Really, y-you don't h-have to…. I mean, it's r-really nice of you to…. I mean-"

Mettaton played a laugh track.

"M-Mettaton!"

" **oh, come on doctor, you're crushing it**."

"S-Sans! Stop it!"

"See, Alphys, I told you it was obvious!" Mettaton managed to giggle somehow.

" **oh come on, have a heart**."

Asgore just stared awkwardly at the pair as they picked on Alphys, (who was now staring at the floor). The king somehow hadn't picked up on anything. "Well, there's no need to be embarrassed, I'm just complimenting you, doctor. If anything, you should be proud."

"O-O-Oh… o-f c-course…"

"Well…" Asgore glanced to the door awkwardly "I should be going, I want to check on Gerson; I hear he's fallen ill recently."

" **hey, before you go can we ask somethin?** '" Sans spoke up just as the king had turned around to leave. " **we need to use the core for our experiment, will you allow that?** "

"Oh... well as long as you don't do anything dangerous, I don't see the problem."

"Th-Thank you, Asgore."

"Oh, it's no problem; don't worry about it. Anyway, I'll be leaving now."

"welp, it's a good thing he spoke up and ended our conversation, huh?" Sans commented as soon as the king was out the door. "Of course not, imagine that drama that would've ensued, now that would've been a news story!" Mettaton lowered his volume for dramatic effect. "Soooo, what's the real story between the two of you?"

"that is the real story; she's helping me fix a machine."

"Very well, I'll entertain you: why are you helping this skeleton out, Alphys?"

"W-Well, u-um… it's because…"

"You're not trying to skip out on making _my_ body, are you, doctor?"

"O-Of course not!"

"Then how come you're helping him instead of me?"

"W-Well… u-uh…"

"You're not trying to replace me, are you darling?"

" **hey, you're her friend, arentcha?** "

"Why, of course. Why else would I be here!"

" **well, if ya care about her, you shouldn't pry so much. 'sides, there's no problem with having more than one friend, is there?** "

The robot's screen went all black for a moment, only to reignite with red. "Excuuuuuse me? I'm just worried is all. The good doctor has been slacking off on making my body for many a day now, and I need to make sure that things go to plan. I didn't abandon my old life to become a failed star, you know!"

The skeleton shrugged. " **whatever. look, just give me a few minutes and she can get back to working on that body of yours."**

The robot played a sigh through his speakers and wheeled over towards the back room.

"S-Sorry to get you wrapped up in all that, he's a n-nice guy, r-really, just a little selfish is all."

" **eh, no big deal. i can live with it."**

An awkward silence took hold again, as it often did when Alphys was around.

"O-Oh! R-Right, the Core!"

" **yup, you've gotten to the** _ **core**_ **of our issue.** "

"O-Okay, so it makes sense; I can't really think of another way to g-get that much magical electricity, but. . . if we're getting it straight from the core, we're going to have to reinforce the conduit. The magic straight from there can be rather hard to contain, and it's increasingly p-potent. N-Not to mention that The C-Core can be dangerous with its swapping around like a puzzle." Alphys counted off these facts using her claws, eventually running out of claws to count on.

" **yeah, plus a good chunk of the energy being transported through the core is inaccessible, due to the ozone it produces."**

"Y-Yeah, so we'd h-have to d-drill straight through the metal , you know, i-into a source. It c-could cause a problem, The Core is our main s-source of power in all the underground a-after all."  
" **heh, don't worry, i've got a good idea of how it works."**

"W-Well, I h-have studied it… h-hopefully between the two of us…"

" **yeah it'll work out, anyway i'm gonna grab some parts from your lab, thanks."**

"W-Wait, they're not h-here-" The skeleton had somehow disappeared from the room. The lizard blinked at the nothing in front of her, surprised.


	5. Chapter 5 - Januis clausis

"SANS!" Papyrus impatiently tapped his foot on the floor of the kitchen. "GET DOWN HERE, YOU NEED TO EAT!" The younger skeleton stepped up onto something and stared up at the ceiling above him. "I'M GOING TO TAKE ONE OF YOUR SOCKS AGAIN!"

" **alright, alright, calm down bro, no need to freak out."** Sans had teleported into the kitchen. Standing beside Papyrus, the two of them were about the same height. Papyrus had taken a couch cushion from the living room and was now standing on top of it to gain more height; functioning under the assumption that it would help Sans hear his yelling.

"THERE IS NEED TO FREAK OUT! THIS IS TWO DAYS NOW THAT YOU HAVE MISSED BREAKFAST, BROTHER; AND YOU WERE LATE FOR BREAKFAST TODAY, AND THE DAY BEFORE AND-"

" **alright, I get it. i've just been busy, bro.** "

"SANS! SINCE WHEN WERE YOU _EVER_ BUSY?!"

" **i get it, i won't do it again.** "

"GOOD! NOW EAT YOUR PANCAKES, ALREADY! I WENT THROUGH NEARLY THE ENTIRETY OF SNOWDIN TOWN TO GO SEE THE NICE BUNNY LADY TO GET THEM FOR YOU!"

" **oh, all the way through town huh? impressive. hope she didn't give you the cold shoulder**."

"SANS…"

" **alright, alright, we can ketchup later.** "

Papyrus groaned and pass Sans the ketchup bottle. "thanks."

"SO WHAT HAS MADE YOU BUSY, BROTHER?"

" **I'm fixing something**."

"YOU MEAN THAT WEIRD TOY IN THE ATTIC? THE ONE YOU KEEP LOCKED UP NINETY-SEVEN PERCENT OF THE TIME **?"**

" **y-yeah** …"

"OF COURSE YOU ARE! WHEN ARE YOU NOT DOING SOMETHING LAZY OR CHILDISH?"

" **guess you've got a point.** " Sans started smearing his pancakes in ketchup, ending up tearing apart the top of the pancake. "SEE? YOU'RE DOING IT RIGHT NOW."

" **guess so.** " Sans smiled and passed the ketchup to his brother.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

" **well, we're out of syrup**."

"FINE, I JUST WON'T HAVE ANY."

" **oh, you're saving the ketchup for me? how sweet of you."**

The skeleton sighed. "OKAY, I'M GOING TO MY POST!"

Sans' pupils went in a circular motion around his eyes sockets. " **papyrus, you're not a sentry yet.** "

"OH YEAH! WELL KING FLUFFYBOY SAYS THAT I CAN BE ONE! I SAW HIM THE OTHER DAY AND ASKED NICELY LIKE YOU TOLD ME, AND SAID SOMETHING LIKE 'WELL, AS LONG AS YOU'RE CAREFUL.'"

" **i still don't think it's a good idea**."

"WELL, I'M GONNA GO DO MY NEW JOB, SANS!"

" **alright, just call me if anything happens, okay bro**?"

"ALRIGHT, I'LL BE AT MY POST. IT'S THE ONE NEXT TO YOURS." The skeleton smiled at his brother and sped out of the house at his usual unusual speed.

After Sans had finished he grabbed a joke book from the table and walked out the door. The skeleton was already leaning against the door of the ruins when he stepped outside. He had his palm face the door, curled his bones into a fist, and knocked.

"Who's there?"

" **woo** "

"Woo who?"  
" **don't get so excited, it's a joke.** "

The skeleton's one-woman audience gave a hearty round of laughter from behind the door. " **you were rather quick to respond today old lady; where you waiting for me?** "

"Partly." The skeleton would've smiled if he wasn't already. A softer knock came from the other side of the door.

" **who's there?** "

"Snow."

" **snow who?** "

"Snow use, I forgot my name again."

" **heh, nice one.** "

"It does feel that way sometimes though…"

" **i guess i sorta get that, sometimes after a long day-** "

"Yes…"

" **apparently my brother is qualified to be a sentry, even though he's so young.** " Although, in reality, he wasn't too far behind, himself.

"Well, that's Asgore for you, the pathetic whelp can't say no to anyone."

" **Guess he is kinda pathetic, not as pathetic as us though.** "

"That reminds me of another one."

" **okay, who's there?** "

"Brother."

" **brother who?** "

"Oh brother, not this again."

" **heh heh.** "

"You sound kind of tired."

The skeleton flinched. " **h-how'd you tell?** "

"Your laugh is off. You usually put just a bit more energy into it."

" **impressive.** "

"You learn to pick up on things like that if you get as old as I am."

Sans nodded for no reason, seeing as it wouldn't be noticed. His stature fell further and his feet pushed back more snow.

"You know, you will feel better if you tell me what's going on."

" **it's snow use, you wouldn't remember anyway.** "

There was silence between the responses, the woman was clearly somewhat confused by this mention.

"Well, if I'm going to forget about it, where's the harm in telling me?"

The silence seemed to want to return. " **well... alright.** " Sans sat back up and inhaled. " **i've been workin' with the new royal scientist lately, we're trying to fix that machine.** "

"Yes, I do recall you mentioning a machine a few times."

" **well, i need to fix it in order to save someone important to me. i've been fixating on it a lot lately, since the scientist came, she might've given me a chance to actually complete it.** "

"If you do not mind, how exactly will this machine save your friend?"

" **well… it's… it's a time machine, I suppose.** "

"... O-Oh!" Sans couldn't help but hear a little chuckle. "Is that so?"  
" **yeah.** "

"I'd imagine that would cause some problems; you can't just go back in time and undo something without risking your safety..."

The skeleton felt a bit more comfortable seeing that she was taking him somewhat seriously. " **i know, that's why i'm not goin' back in time.** "

"Oh?"

" **yeah… you see gaster, that's his name, he sorta… split his soul across time and space.** "

"R-Really, now?" or… maybe she wasn't taking him too seriously.

" **so i guess after that, i'm going on a crazy scavenger hunt, across alternate timelines?** "

"Y-Yes, it does look like it." At least she sound like she was getting a kick out of this. " **anyway, I feel like i'm getting somewhere; so i've been working hard for once lately, instead of just giving up like alway.** "

"Well, that's a very interesting goal."

" **hey, what does a clock do when it's hungry?** " Sans decided to stop talking about it, he was pretty sure it wasn't actually helping.

"It goes back four seconds."

" **welp, guess you're too good for that one huh? If only I had a second,** "

The laughter came again.

" **well anyway, i should get going; the doctor's visiting again today and i want it to look like i actually did somethin'.** "

"Don't you have your job?"

" **eh, nobody will notice if i'm gone.** "

"I do suppose so."

" **welp, sorry for making this so short and sort akward, see ya later old lady.** '

"Farewell, best of luck to you."


	6. Chapter 6 - Semper Idem

Alphys reached over at the light switch. "Later, darling!" Mettaton waved goodbye to the doctor. "You did a great job today."

"Th-thanks."

Mettaton was out the door by the time Alphys had flipped the switch off. The doctor began to make her way over to her bed in the back room. She had just stepped on the conveyer belt as her phone buzzed.

 _ **Humerist42:**_ _hey, you at your lab?_

 _ **ALPHYS:**_ _yeah why?_

 _ **Humerist42:**_ _can you come down to the basement for a sec?_

Alphys stared awkwardly at her phone, she didn't even notice she'd reach the end of the conveyor.

 _ **ALPHYS:**_ _you know about that!?1?_

 _ **Humerist42:**_ _oh, yeah guess so. is that a problem?_

 _ **ALPHYS:**_ _well i guess not. but that's supposed to be a secret and stuff. U know, so the populous can't pressure me and whatever. It was some old royal scientist's idea._

 _ **Humerist42:**_ _i know. so i'll be seeing you right?_

 _ **ALPHYS:**_ _right, see you soon_

Alphys pocketed her phone and went all the way around the lab, just so she could reach the front room again. She flipped up the bathroom sign and pressed the call button. She soon slid inside the elevator and let it start descending to the lower floor.

Eventually, the door opened into the poorly lit lower lab. Alphys stepped out of the box and started down the hallway. After some time she came to the first room; she passed through the second elevator down another hall and into the most spacious of the rooms. It was here she found Sans: he had brought the whole machine with him. Blueprints and the tarp from earlier were scattered on the floor. The skeleton had gathered plenty of spare parts from around the lower laboratory, since Alphys had used it primarily as a store room.

" **heya, again**." The skeleton waved at her.

"H-Hiya?" The lizard glanced around at the mini-fortress the hoodie wearing monster had amassed. "H-How long have you been down here?"

" **a few hours, since my brother fell asleep. i needed some parts**."

"Some? I w-wouldn't call th-that some…"

" **i figured you wouldn't mind.** "

"I-I don't." Alphys brushed off her labcoat and approached the project. "W-We've been making a good amount of progress lately."

" **if we're right anyway; i had to fix something up earlier.** "

"O-Oh r-really?"

"Well. the wiring for the pistons was sorta, well… more complicated than we thought. oh, and according to some papers i found the reinforcement on the pipes won't hold the core's energy without bursting; we're going to need to increase them in a different material." Sans held up one of the blueprints Alphys had inherited.

"Y-You can read those?"

" **yeah…** "

"W-Why didn't you tell me?" Her tone was not accusatory, mostly stunned if anything,

" **you didn't seem to need 'em, besides there not very helpful; he's gotta weird sorta shorthand. the guy didn't even bother listing half of what he used to make this peice of junk.** "

"W-Well okay…" Alphys was willing to accept that explanation. "I g-guess we should figure out how we progress from here."

Sans brought his head closer to his chest in a nod. " **alright, let me see if i can crack a new section open.** "

Wires. An endless forest of wires and a few dangling strips of metal. "Wh-what?" Alphys blinked at the mess.

" **yeah…** " Sans inhaled. " **a while ago when i was working on this still, i found something for them all to be connected to.** " Sans instructed the scientist to withdraw and flipped to the other side of the machine. There was a large fish-tank-like chamber. It was built out of weird looking glass and attached to the side of the machine. The top of the container looked like it could be detached. The metal of the machine to which the cube was attached had been reinforced with something black, and contained several small holes. " **the metal seems to be moving this chamber of energy upwards, through the wires. it goes up to a small slot on the back of the machine. That part's not connected to anything, it just goes there for some reason. 'sides that, there's more contraptions i don't recognize in the hunk of junk."**

"A-Alright h-how about this…-one of us tries to figure-" Alphys gestured at the machine. "-this out, and one tries to figure out how to get the conduits to contain the core's energy."

" **alright, i've been working at that part of the machine for age and still...** " Sans suddenly had a collection of papers in his hands. '" **so you're probably a better shot at it, here's what i've got.** " He handed over what he had summoned. " **i've practically memorized the whole thing. call me if you need help.** "

Once the skeleton had started his search Alphys sat down in front of the machine. Alright, firstly there was something that had piqued her interest, the glass was just… off. The coloration had been tinted with something she could quite put her finger on; the glass had to modified to contain whatever the energy was. Secondly, there was a slit at the bottom of tank; something was probably supposed to be placed there, maybe a separator?

Alphys followed the wires up the machine, getting her hand caught a few times, together they attached to the very top of the machine. At the very top there was also a small slit in the metal. Strangely, the wires themselves were merely attached to the top, not to an actual device. The occasional chipped material suggested that something else was supposed to be heading in that direction too, probably what was supposed to exit from the slit up top. This slit reminded Alphys of where a credit card would come out of in an ATM, not that they many outside of the capital, it too was reinforced by some material.

At the moment, she didn't have much of an idea what to do; she supposed she should test the glass like material. There was also what was behind her... paper after paper of information. Testing would do. The doctor sawed out a small shard of the glass, she removed it reluctantly, afraid the tank would collapse in on itself; it held. She had some chemicals in the back of the lab, frozen in the fridges, she'd see how the glass would react to them. Hopefully it wasn't just tinted for color change, Alphys doubted that theory, whoever made the machine didn't seem to care about how pretty it was; though maybe that was because of the state she first saw it in.

Alphys took the shard to one of the rooms, weaving through the spare furniture and parts. She ended up walking in front of one of the mirrors in one of the rightmost rooms. She took a few vials from the counter behind her, mostly the ones she could recognize. She had brought one of her notepads with her, a pink one with a darker tint of the contour of the protagonist of her favorite anime. She slowly unscrewed the cap, and tilted the vial slightly letting a single drop fall onto the glass. She swiftly tilted the cylinder back upwards, and waited for a reaction.


	7. Chapter 7 - Ab uno disce omnes

Alphys had brought the glass samples to the ground floor of the lab; if ground floor would be the correct term. Regardless, she was coming to the end of the sample of solutions she had on hand. Mettaton had agreed to help her, though only after she'd done a 'fair' share of his body. "See now darling, there's no need to be so awfully touchy." The robot commented. "You did agree to help with my design, didn't you?"

"Y-Yeah of course."

"Aaaaaaand" The robot poked at Alphys as she slid a vial of shiny blue liquid back into the vial rack.

"I get it." Alphys audibly exhaled through her nostrils. "I g-guess I sort was avoiding you…"  
"Aaaaaaaand."  
"...Maybe I should've found a better balance between the two tasks I'm working on."

"I'm glad you agree!" The robot gave a round of applause, recording the noise of his plastic hands and playing it back again to amplify it.

Alphys immediately switched to the next vial; she'd giving up on taking notes in her notebook due to the lack of reactions. There was no need to waste paper. "I still don't see how this will amount to any form of machine." Alphys slid the box of gloves to the talkative Mettaton, who reluctantly placed them over his already glove shaped hands.

"We can't have your current body malfunction either, e-even if it is just ch-cheap plastic."

"A-L-P-H-Y-S, you're ignoring what I said again."

"Y-Yes... that is how you spell my name..."

"Alphys." The doctor put the vial back in place and moved on to the next. "Now, now, how can telling me about a shard of glass hurt?"

"I m-mean... I g-guess it can't…"

"See doctor, if you could stop being so emotionally uptight, maybe we could make some snappier progress!" Mettaton followed this up with the obvious action.

"W-Well, I've gotta… wait no um… w-we've gotta figure out what this glass is ac-actually meant to contain, that's why I'm testing its properties, duh." Alphys quickly wanted to take back that last word. "Is that all darling? Then why are we using these crazy chemicals? Surely you'd want to start with something more basic? Besides you aren't making any progress."

"W-W-Well… th-the m-machine w-we're fixing is k-kinda a-advanced so, I was thinking that it would b-be more sp-specific..."

"Alphys deary-" Mettaton heaved Alphys off her feet, causing her to knock over some liquid or other. He placed her so that her back faced the table they had been working at.

"Now darling, here's a little lesson in science-ing, no wait…" Mettaton took a moment to extravagantly reach one had towards the roof of the lab, with the other half-way across his monitor. "Always starts with the, B-A-S-I-C-S-" The robot snapped a plastic finger for each letter. "-for doing absolutely anything! You need to look fabulous? Start with what you have, your natural beauty-"  
"I don't think that's a very good analogy."

"Look here doctor! Didn't some clever person somewhere say something like 'genius is in simplicity' or something?"

"Probably?"

"Well if we start with something basic, like… I dunno know durability, we'll have a list of potential materials it can hold; then you can try the things that work in context~!"

Alphys chuckled as he accentuated the last syllable. She pushed her glasses back onto her face. "Y-Yeah, I guess you do have a point."

"Of course I do darling! Now how about you get some more of that weird glass, and I'll see if I can donate a mirror or two, then we can break things~!" The doctor nodded and the two split up for a moment.

They both reconvened outside the lab to prevent destroying any valuable merchandise, and perhaps scientific materials too. Mettaton placed down a camera in front of both samples of glass. "Alright darling, let's see how they hold up, why don't we?"

"O-oh! We can also test their reaction to heat here; y-you know given the t-temperature of-"

"Of course we can, how very clever of you doctor that was your plan all along wasn't it?"  
"W-Well-" Mettaton place a finger over Alphys' mouth.

"Now get me that hammer and stand back, no Alphys-es need to be harmed in the making of this production!" Alphys did as instructed, the robot swung his rubber weapon around gleefully. "Welcome beauties-"

"Mettaton, we're just getting footage so we can-"

"Yes, but the camera is watching, isn't it?"

"W-We need to draw a line somewhere."

The robot ignored her and light tapped each piece of glass once with the instrument, then he actually applied some force. The result looked to be the same for each.

"There you go good doctor, that's one test done. Now you simply need to leave the glass out to melt and slow the footage for some magnificent scientific observations. All due to your own wonderful deductions of course! I'll be inside, cooling my circuits! Good luck, doll."

* * *

"So darling-" Mettaton ignored the various conspicuously named files as Alphys downloaded the footage into her computer. "-any luck?"

"Uh… n-no… not yet" She couldn't even see the recording yet.

"Well then, what do you suppose we should test next?"

"I-I d-didn't mean…"  
Mettaton leaned himself against the wall. "I don't have much time, I'm trying to see what I can do with the late night slot tonight, and I've got to go prepare for show; we can't have a broadcast that's ill prepared this time, can we?"

"O-Oh, that's f-fine Mettaton, g-go ahead. I-I'll be alright!"

"Oh, but what am I saying, of course you will, later doll!"

Alphys eventually got to the footage and pulled up a free video editor she got from the Undernet; it was absolutely terrible, but it would do. She skipped Mettaton's mini monologue, and went straight to the smashing. Nothing special there, that was a relief; it'd be somewhat hard for the doctor to narrow things down with that property. Now for the _clearly_ more exciting part, watching glass melt. In hindsight she probably didn't need to of recorded this, but at the very least she could adjust a few settings and watch glass melt in half the time.

There was probably a way to make this task exciting, but this wasn't it. The clear shard of glass started to slowly form into a goo and the tinted glass sat there and… didn't.

Alphys readjusted her glasses and double checked, because glass not melting is so clearly a great discovery.

Heat, the glass had to hold something hot, but at the same time something that could be carried from the container at the press of a button. Seeing that, as the robot had implied, it was late, Alphys hopped of her chair. She'd just unwind for now…. and carry her notebook around jotting down whatever came to her.


	8. Chapter 8 - Pari Passu

Now that Papyrus was in bed after Sans had convinced him that he'd been lazy all day, Sans slid back into his room. He continued to look back through the binder of lab notes he had accumulated, seeing if he could pick out any hint of the material Alphys had instructed him to find. He got his highlighter back out and reread the reminders posted on the wall facing his bed.

One was a single sentence written in wingdings: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

and of course the other read

 _Don't forget_

These two notes were basically that 'Do it for him/her.' Undernet meme plastered onto his wall, except much more motivational and much less 'romantic'. That's the purpose they served for now, at least.

The skeleton flipped to a sticky note and started skimming over what could find. He's almost done with this section, although he couldn't really read it too well. Something about heating? He guessed that time machines could easily overheat… and explode into a million pieces…

The skeleton eventually realized that pages about maintaining the temperature of the machine wouldn't help much. Eventually he found something on the previous doctor's purchases. It looked something like:

Cloudy Glasses, Some disconcernable reason for purchase - 30 G

Sea tea, something about employees - 50 G

Crate of stoic onions - 165 G

His favorite food. Sans scratched a few words between the margins in pen.

" **stoic onions, so that i can continue to attempt to show no emotion whatsoever and become absolutely perfect, because that's possible. spoilers, it won't work**. **I'm** _ **already**_ **perfect.** "

The skeleton got a vain chuckle out of this, he mentally noted that it would be amusing to see the doctor attempt to attempt to get some reign on his occasional emotional outbursts again.

Managed to finally get hands on "Temmie Armor" - 9999 G

Acquired- Sans had trouble deciphering what was called for -from Gerson* - 0 G

Picked up a punch card, need to study them further - 45 G

Sans followed the page down to the asterisk.

* _Properties of both magically attuned materials can be retained if exposed to light layer of ozone before melting down in lab. Attempt to mix to form material. Get more sleep. PRJ-0413_

PRJ-0413, that was his, oh so creative code for the machine, or at least that seemed right, now that Sans had seen it in context. Gerson, as old as the turtle was, had some memory. He also didn't quite seem to enjoy giving things away for free, sure he'll have forgotten to whom and for what reason, but he at least might remember what it was. The skeleton focused his magical energy for a moment and began making his way to waterfall.

Gerson always seemed to be open late. The skeleton could hear a brief snippet of laughter from inside the store. He knocked lightly on the wood that marked out the entrance. " **anyone home**?"

"Jus' an old bore and the king himself."

"Now, now, Gerson, you are not quite an old bore yet."  
"Can it Fluffybuns, you know I am. Dontcha deny it so you can feel like a youngun' again."

"Gerson, should you not get the door…? oh... wait a moment..."

"I getcha, come in kiddo! Wah-ha-ha!"

Sans shuffled into under the archway, files in hand. He placed the binder on the worn wooden counter. "Well, would you look at that! It looks like we've got a customer in the middle of the night; and for this shop of all places. What do you want off of me, kid?"

Sans flipped the binder open and attempted to find the page, again. "Oh, why howdy, you are that skeleton I saw a few weeks ago; Sans, right?" The skeleton only nodded in response to the king's question. "You live with your brother, Papyrus, in Snowdin. I've seen you around often, but your brother always seems to want to take up my time."

"Fluffybuns, this is a business transaction, not an idle chat." Gerson cleared his throat. "So, kid?"

" **you apparently made some sorta transaction to someone a while back-** " Sans pointed at the list he had found earlier, " **-a bit after the core was made. it was for free, too. do you remember what that was?** "

Gerson closed his eyes for a moment. "Remember something like that, I think." He muttered. "Whoever it was somehow swiped the product from me without paying; that must by why I remember it so well. Let's see, what was it…?"

"Oh, right." The turtle concluded after a moment. "The gemstones. They'd gotten sanction from the king."

Sans paused for a moment. "the gemstones… like the ones in the wishingroom."

"Yup, that sounds about right, kid. We didn't harvest 'em from the wishing room though, we went down to some of the caverns nobody visits and got some there."

"Oh, golly, yes I remember that." The king was visibly pleased. "Wasn't that nice, Gerson?"

"So, I guess we're going on another trip then, huh, Fluffybuns?"

* * *

King Asgore tied a rope to the bridge that connected the parts of waterfall. "Are you sure this will hold, Gerson?" Asgore glanced back at the two monsters behind him. "What, do you want to take stars from the caves monsters pass through?"

"W-Well, of course not!"  
"Then get to it Fluffybuns. You yourself said you enjoyed this." The king looked down into the chasm.

"You are sure that there is ground down there, right?"

"And gemstones." Gerson's face folded into a smile. "You want me to go first, you whimsum?"

"Now, now, Gerson there's no need to be so rude to the good whimsums; they're just a little timid is all."

The skeleton and the tortoise were silent.

"A-And yes… I'd like that."

"Right." Gerson turned back to the skeleton behind him. "Sans, was it? Hold my hammer for me."

The turtle lowered himself down onto the rope and loosened his grip, slowly sliding down.

"You're nervous too, aren't you?" Asgore glanced down at the skeleton beside him.

 **"nope."** The skeleton shrugged.

"O-Oh, golly…" There was a faint echo from below.

"Alright, kid, you're next."

"gotcha." The skeleton completely failed to project his voice but he crawled onto the rope anyway. He decided to follow the Turtle's lead and slid down. He was greeted by a bucket at the end of it, Gerson planned to use as a way to bring the stones back up.

"Alright Fluffybuns!" Gerson gleefully chimed, and yelled, back up to him.

"Are you sure about this? Maybe I could just pull the both of you back up."

"Fluffybuns, what I wouldn't give to see you shimmy down this tiny rope rope for me!"

"Gerson I don't think it's very polite to-"

"Aw, quit yer yappin' and just get down here!"

The king's sighing was so evident it might as well have been audible. Gerson lightly poked Sans with his shoulder. "Just wait until you see how he looks."

The turtle was indeed correct, watching the giant king practically crawl down the rope was undeniably an amusing sight. Asgore eventually touched the ground and readjusted his cloak so that his armor was concealed once more.

"Golly… that was… something." Gerson smiled.

"Alright kid. These stones are awfully tough, see, we're gonna have to work to lodge them out of the ground." Gerson chuckled. "Given that you don't have any meat on your bones, literally in this case, you just gotta carry them back, alright? I'll be expecting pay this time, though."

The small cavern the three had deposited themselves into was somewhat dark; however, this could be used to some advantage, as the gems gave off a faint glow. Sans followed the two around a few stalagmites, staying a foot or so behind them as they began to work. Asgore held a small flame to one of the jewels as the turtle slowly and carefully worked it out of the ground with his hammer. The bottom of the stone was a little chipped, but it was still a good sample. "Isn't it beautiful, Sans?" Asgore asked as he passed it to him.

" **guess so.** "

"You can see why monsters wish on these, they can sparkle like real stars if you put them in light long enough."

"Wah-ha-ha, that reminds me of a good story."

Asgore suddenly perks up. "Gerson, please…"

"Then get moving, Fluffybuns!"

Now that Asgore mentioned it, this area was indeed pleasant. The gems had absorbed just enough light to nicely outline the walls and stalagmites, and there was the occasional raindrop sound of water making its way onto to the floor. This area also seemed like it would usually be silent if not for the sound of him placing the gemstone into the bucket. Well that plus, Asgore and Gerson working out another stone. Sans returned to the two of them. "So how many of these do you need, kid?" The turtle asked. "

" **not sure, three or four, i guess**?"

Gerson nodded as he popped the stone out of the wall with his hammer. "We'll be gettin' you five then, and not just because I can charge you more that way. I promise I'm at least somewhat lookin' out for you."


	9. Chapter 9 - Per diem

Alphys watched as Mettaton slowly welded the glass back together. "And you thought that installing it would be useless darling!" He had told her earlier. The doctor was still considering removing it. Sans was in the back room, he'd taken the pipes and was attempting to apply on a layer of whatever material he had found. Alphys would ask him what he was using later, it might prove useful information.

The doctor looked back down at the sketches she was scanning. She was working through all the possible substance the glass could hold, or at least what she could think of. It would have to be somewhat liquid like and above the average melting point of glass. After that it would have to make it way up the pipes and to the top chamber where it was attached to… nothing.

Alright, alright, so the hot material would have to travel up the wire and be deposited… somewhere… Now that she thought about it, wasn't there some sheet of metal at the bottom of the mess of wires. She'd thought it was just the bottom of the machine but maybe…

"Mettaton?"

"Yes darling?"  
"Are the conduits behind the tank heating up?"

"Pardon doctor?"  
"Um… the pipes that are supposed to transfer the liquid, are they starting to melt?"

Mettaton deposited his flamethrower and reduced the height of the metal that connected him to his one wheel. He glanced and observed the machine.

"Yes, I suppose you could sort of say that."

"Then maybe…" Alphys inhaled. "Do you think…"

"Why yes I do think." Mettaton sassed. "Spit it out Alphys, what is it?"

"What if the pipes are supposed to be melted, and the liquid heats up the energy and breaks open it's container…"

"What exactly would that do…?"

"W-Well with a bit of magical influence all the energy might be able to break open a hole in timespace... " The doctor just gave a sheepish laugh. She was of course exaggerating she'd need someone to influence the energy more than a bit. "I m-mean it's just a theory but what if the wire melts and the substance inside breaks open the container, then it combines with even more heat energy and is shot through that small slit, opening a-"

" **sound like somethin' to me."**

"O-Oh! S-Sans did you finish?"

" **yup."** Sans smiled and showed his finished product. " **now if your right… which i have a inkling you are, a good chunk of the wires are probably to reassemble the machine after use."** Sans shrugged. " **we'd probably get it done faster if we repaired it manually."**

"Y-You think I'm... r-right?" Alphys was somehow stunned by this.

" **sure it's a little unorthodox, but yeah, no harm in testing it. we'll just see if it works and then fix the rest."**

"S-Sans, it's a time machine, th-that could be…"

" **yeah, but the energy has to dissipate eventually right? if it works, the portal will just close; then we can just focus on learning to control it."** Sans tapped his foot in the drearily tiled floor.

"W-Well, um… o-okay then!"

"Alphys darling… a time machine, really?"

"N-No! I mean… y-yes…. I mean… sort of?"

Mettaton pressed a glove against his monitor. "Well as long as your little experiment doesn't slow me down."  
"I-It won't!"

"Good good, try whatever you'd like then."

" **welp, i guess i can just propel whatever liquid you need up the conduits with magic for now. you should go ahead and put the pipes back in place. i'll be able to cover everythin' else; might take another week or so."**

"W-Well I guess we can get to work for now th-then."

" **any substance should work for your half, as long as it can melt the pipe… well that and be moved somewhat quickly with magic."**

"Easy darlings!" The robot was posing dramatically. "I'll just pick up some of the magma from the hotland is all."

" **heh, thanks for not being too square about this. magma should work for now."**

"O-F C-O-U-R-S-E! That's why I suggested it in the first place. The sooner this is done the better, and besides… it'll be... let's say interesting-" The robot played a sound file that probably was titled something like "-to see how this turns out."

Once the robot had decided the to leave, it was time to get to work again; no more field studies. Down hill from here; just fixing some pipes, pretty basic. This left Alphys with plenty of time to think of complaints she would never voice. Like how Sans had dismissed several other inner workings of the machine at the prospect of getting work done. There was also the fact that the tank of what would be magma for now looked as if it was supposed to hold two substances; there was groove in the middle of the metal suggesting a place for a separator. Also they'd have to repair the machine if it wanted to be used more than once, paradoxes, time travel in general. Sans seemed to have a pretty good of how time travel worked though, at least more so than she did, anime was probably a poor teacher. Then again, humans might of found a way to produce time travel; who knows how much progress the humans had made since they were sealed down here.

Alphys could probably instal self repairs to the machine later if she needed to, at this point she sort of wanted to get this done and work on her own projects. She'd probably kept Asgore waiting for far too long. He was acting so patient but she was sure that he couldn't wait forever. He was probably secretly looking down on her for this, or so the doctor concluded. Now that she thought about it perhaps if she showed Asgore the machine…

If this actually worked there could be so many possibilities, depending on how exactly timelines worked they could be jumping around different points in life or sliding into alternate universes. Why was Sans even repairing this? What would he use it for? Why was she just now thinking about this? There had to be a reason he was so secretive… Was this even a good idea? He _did_ seem like a genuinely good person but… The doctor slowed her mind and refocused on repairs.

In the end Alphys did exactly as expected. Silently worked on the machine and reflected back occasional comments when Sans made them. Besides, Sans said she'd have a week to work on repairs, she'd get to it eventually...


	10. Chapter 10 - Ante Bellum

The underground would never show it, but it was late at night. Sans plugged the pre-made conduit into the cut in the CORE: it had been fortified with the same gemstones as each of the other parts, and was carved so that it may better slide into place. He stepped back and glanced back at the doctor, who was clearly fidgeting nervously. " **it'll be fine. we've got plenty of time to get this done**."

"O-Of course." Alphys looked down at the complicated switchboard they had compiled, Sans had insisting she turn each of the parts on individually, and in a specific order, last minute. "I-It um… sure could've been a better repair job." She wrapped her tail around her feet and awkwardly laughed. Sans quickly realized he could make a pun out of this, but he held back for once.

"A-As soon as I f-flip the switches, you'll be using your magic and the magma to propel it upward." Sans let her ramble on about the plans they had already gone over. "A-Alright, alright… w-we're just testing this… n-no big deal!"

Sans held up a single hand, his fingers extended.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

Sans led with his magic a bit early to compensate for the slow flowing magma. It was only a few seconds before the machine started spewing huge clouds of Ozone. The white fog grew thick at a rate quickly enough to cause the nearby area to appear as only outlines, as if someone was sketching their surroundings on paper. He glanced to his side in search of the royal scientist, who should be just a few feet away; but in these few seconds, even the contours had been erased. He was going to shout out to her when a warped and deafening sound broke into the CORE, shaking its foundation. The sound broke the skeleton's focus, insisting on vibrating his skull relentlessly. When he could finally make his senses work, he found his leg caught around what he could only guess was the steel safety rail. The only vivid shape in fornt of him was a sharp tear in… something. It was lined with a strange glossy lava-lamp blue, broadcasting a distorted image of the CORE. " **alphys?** " He called as calmly as was possible. He felt a light tug at his loose leg and glanced up, nobody was visible. His mind refocused again; it was only now he noticed that some second gravity was attempting to pull him towards it's source, somehow growing in power.

Under the hurried assumption that his leg might snap in two eventually, the skeleton freed himself and flung his body back onto his feet. Instantly, he felt himself being trawled forward. He took a step back, he was able to gain some distance. " **alphys?** " Nothing. She must be...

This was a terrible idea.


	11. Chapter 11 - Fugit Hora

Alphys found that she had placed one of her scaled hands atop her head, applying pressure to one of her temples. Each of her limbs seemed to feel individually groggy after… whatever had just happened. She hauled herself onto her feet. She found she had to adjust her glasses, which were loosely hanging on her snout, in order to properly take in her surroundings.

The fog had evaporated from the CORE. The lights had been dimmed quite a bit; perhaps the machine had taken a bit too much energy. " **alphys**."

Alphys jolted her head up in the voice's direction. "S-Sans?" The doctor rubbed at her eyes "W-What e-exactly happened… the machine… the state of the core, y-you don't think we took things t-too far… did we?"

Sans shook his head to the best of his ability. " **i don't... think. . . so**." The amount of time between each word slowly lengthened.

The doctor glanced over the skeleton's shoulder. "W-Wait wh-where's the…" It wasn't likely that the machine would just disappear completely. "Wait…" She drew out the vowel. "A-Are we…? D-Do you think! Is there a possibility that-"

" **well, seems likely, dosen't it?** "

Alphys pressed her upper jaw against her lower and sharply inhaled. "Y-You _are_ kidding, right?" The lizard laughed awkwardly. "Like, you're just… messing with me… th-there's no way we're _actually_ -"

" **welp…** " Sans flipped around and started walking out of the CORE. " **come on, let's go figure things out then.**. **the machine will probably be in its usual place.** "

Alphys had essentially no choice but to follow. "I-Its usual place?"

" **my house**."

"S-Sans! You, y-you're going to… i-if you meet… you might… "

" **destroy time and space? nah**."

"B-But one o-object can't be in two places a-at once. I-It goes against everything… everything…."

" **mhm. well, who's to say we're the same, then? different timeline, different sans-es. 'sides, time would already be broken according to what you're saying. n' look what's still here**."

"Sans! W-We c-can't just waltz into another plane of time and space! It's c-crazy! At least g-give me a moment to p-process this! H-How are we even going to get back! We d-don't even know what this place is like! Th-The only way we have a chance of r-returning is to-" The lizard's face sank, but her epiphany at least broke her out of her nervous ramblings.. "-repair it again."

" **well, at least we know what we're doing, this time.** "

"Y-yeah, but... w-we didn't even have any control of where we're going! Do you know how many timelines there might be?!" Alphys was beginning to regret staying silent earlier.

" **eh…** **we'll just have to figure it out, is all.** "

"S-Sans! F-Figure it out?"

" **yeah. look, if anyone was going to make a functional time machine, there's gotta to be a way to control it, right**?"

"I m-mean, I guess, but, w-what about back a-at home? W-Won't people b-be worried…? What if we c-can't get back?!"

Sans could easily imagine Alphys frantically waving her arms while saying this like some animated character. Sans inhaled, shaking his head. " **can't do anything about that. let's get this done, okay**?"

"O-Okay, but…"

"But?"

"N-Nevermind… W-We don't really have much of a c-choice right now anyway… right?"

Eventually the duo managed to navigate what was usually the convoluted mess that was the CORE; this time it had become almost completely straightforward. They took the elevator down the lowest level of Hotland and began to walk towards the ferry.

"A-Are you s-sure she… he… um… they're there?"

" **been there since the beginning of time, or somethin'.** "

"C-Can't y-you just try t-teleporting us?"

" **my shortcuts you mean?** " Sans somehow shot Alphys an audible wink. " **not sure if that's completely safe yet. might have to save energy."** Alphys' fears were so clearly alleviated by this comment.

"Tra la la." The hooded figure turned its whole head to look at the two. "I was waiting for you. Maybe you'd come tomorrow, maybe you'd come yesterday. " The monster… creature... Whatever they were turned it's head to the river. "It doesn't really matter." Regardless the Riverperson was still on their boat, though this time they were mildly decipherable. "Tra la la. My boat is in a green sort of mood today." The skeleton casually hopped onto the boat, Alphys followed suit. "Snowdin correct?" Neither of them were surprised anymore; the river person had been in the underground for what seemed like forever and almost everyone was used to their weird antics. The boat rose from the river and started scampering off. "Tra la la. And remember don't feed the plant, maybe name it though; it could use a good name for once." The river person twisted its head back again. The river was running for longer than usual. "...Beware the man from another world." It turned it's head back. "U-Um- " The boat seemed to have traveled at an increased speed, it had already harbored at the snowy cliffside. "Tra la la. There's an extra hour somewhere, or maybe not. I'd use the hour to become a professional worm charmer, or maybe popularize self-defenestration, wouldn't you?" The both of them stepped off the boat, taking this as a dismissal.

" **welp, here we go. time to meet myself**." Sans lightly elbowed the doctor. " **i guess you could say this will be a good practice of self reflection.** " Alphys knocked on the door so that she could get this over with. No response. Again

" **who's there**?" Alphys looked beside her.

" **nope.** " .

"U-Uh… It's… uh… A-Alphys."

" **alphys who?** "

The doctor awkwardly stared at the door. " **heh. you're gonna have to try a bit harder to appease me next time; hold on, i'll open the door.** "

"H-Hi there…" Alphys was dragging her vowels again. The two Sans-es eyed each other for a moment. This was going to get confusing. " **you're… here**?"

" **i'm here**."

The other Sans resumed the silence. His pupils seemed to somehow draw back into his own skull.

"U-Uh… c-can we come in?"  
" **oh... s-sure.** " This timeline's Sans backed out of the doorframe and let the two slide inside. They sat themselves on the couch.

" **you fixed it then**?"

Sans nodded at himself, and also gave a spoken answer. " **yeah, sorta. we got here at least... but we can't control where we go, and don't know where to look**." The other Sans took a moment to process.

"L-Look for what?" Alphys glanced at the two of them.

" **huh… she doesn't know yet?** " The royal scientist had never seen Sans look so genuinely surprised, and it wasn't even the Sans she had spent the most time with.

" **she'd forget. there's no point.** "

"Forget what?" Alphys swung her tail off the floor and onto the couch, wrapping it around her back. " **so you fixed it… and that quickly…** " The newest Sans spoke, he tapped a finger against the wall of his house. " **okay**." There was a pause. " **guess we better get the two of you back then.** "

"W-Wait hold on!" The two Sans-es turned to Alphys.

"I-If I'm going to be involved in this- this… m-mess" Alphys swallowed. "-I should know what's going on. I c-can't just… I could be more useful if… i really should"

" **alright, then**." The two said in unison, though one with more hesitation.

" **even if you won't remember all of it. he should at least cover the basics; some details should stick with you. 'sides, he forced you out here in the first place, you sure deserve some amount of knowledge.** "

Sans got off the couch, and gave a sheepish half-laugh. " **sorry about-** " He gestured to the air near his head. " **-this. at this point well… i guess... you deserve to have some idea what's happening, huh?** "

Chapter 12

"do you remember who the previous royal scientist was?" Alphys stared at Sans from the couch. The house had suddenly grow quiet, that or Alphys had only now noticed. She didn't bother to try to recall. "N-No…" Sans nodded. "shouldn't you though?" A moment. "have you heard of doctor gaster?" The royal scientist gave a small nod, a faint recollection had sprung in her mind from seemingly nowhere. "H-He was the p-previous r-royal scientist… r-right?"

"yup. one of the best too." Sans' grin seemed to somehow grow. "he made the machine. it was his solution to the growing population, and maybe the barrier. He didn't wanna risk going back in time and creating paradoxes, so instead of jumping back in time he'd go to different timelines. one of them had to of been able to support us."

"Th-then what happened? How did that machine g-get so…"

"i'm getting to that." Sans stuck both of his hands in his hoodie packet a shook his head. "he'd set up a program in order to gather data on each of the timelines but the data had corrupted and for some reason…"

"F-For some reason?"  
Sans was silent. It was at this moment, as Alphys glanced away, she noticed a subtle fading expression of shock on the face of the Sans of the timeline they had visited. "Uh…. a-are you…"

"i'm fine." They said in unison.

The Sans she was more recently acquainted with took over. "complications split him across time and space. If we're to be preventing paradoxes the only way to help would to be retrieving his soul."

"O-Oh..."

"but you guys didn't choose to arrive here, and it's unlikely that he's here. you both just need to get back for now."

Alphys decided to shed what she could of the current atmosphere. "Y-Yeah! Let's g-get to work. I-It m-might take a while, b-but we know what we're doing." She swung her tail back around her legs and attempted an inspirational smile… which wasn't too convincing.

"we don't have much of a choice." Sans turned briefly to himself. "is the machine in the usual spot?"

"well yeah, but… that's not our major problem here…"

"W-Wait a second… t-there's a major problem…" Alphys face began to fall.

"materials. given how the underground is now, they're kinda being put to… somethin' else."

"welp, we have to get there sometime. let's just go on a supply run now. maybe we can pick up another doctor?" Sans winked over to Alphys, which only helped to make the prospect slightly more uncomfortable. "alright then. i'll show you to a shortcut."

It was only a few moments before all three had arrived in the throne room, glistening with the usual golden flowers. A single monster was rushing straight through the flowerbed, a series of papers in his mouth. The flowers seemed to have been tread over several times within the last few hours.

The one person who knew what's going on turned around. "alphys is working in asgore's residence." He announced. "king is out most of the time, so he doesn't mind. she's working on technologies."

"I a-am? H-How c-come.. w-what's so u-urgent…"

"I think i get it…" Sans glanced over to Alphys. "where would that monster of been coming from, back in asgore's garden?" Alphys took her time coming to the next conclusion. "Y-You don't mean-"

"yeah, we're sorta at war." Sans winked back at himself. "grats."

"T-That's… k-kinda a problem…"

"yeah, most of our materials are kind of being in exhausted." The three of them were already walking up Asgore's stairs. The two visitors remained silent to take this in, they still where Sans knocked on one of the doors in Asgore's side hallway. "O-Oh! H-Hold on! Coming!" There was a series of clanks from the room as the doctor rushed to the door. "H-Hiya! S-Sorry I w-was w-working you know, c-circumstances. I-I-I…" The doctor extended her last vowel. "What."

All three of them slid into the absurdly cluttered room, this timeline's Alphys took a seat at her worktable.

"O-Oh! S-So you two are k-kind o-of s-stranded, huh…"

"pretty much."

"O-Okay, b-based off your account I'm pretty sure we c-can atleast get the machine in the condition it was when you used it… it's just l-learning h-how to c-control it.."

"given that you two were able to get it to function in the first place, i'll leave all the hard work to the two of you."

"Th-The hard part will be getting materials. M-Most e-everything has b-been moved up to o-one of the c-camps on the s-surface… and you know how that is…"

The older Sans shrugged. "i'll head back home and get to work. It's the easiest job, i'm just following instructions. you're busy anyway alphys."

"W-Wait! S-So y-you're telling us to go onto the surface and grab materials from an actual battle field!"

"well our alphys is kinda busy, and someone's gotta do what you did. 'Sides at least one of you'll be doing more timeline hoping later, think of it as practice."

"I-I'll see if I c-can g-get the r-royal guard to cover you. It might t-take a bit of explaining but…" Alphys swung her chair around and flip open her computer. "I m-mean a-at th-this rate, a-a break w-would pr-probably be n-nice r-right?"

Alphys and Sans ended up seating themselves at Asgore's dining table as they waited for their escort. The other Alphys had stayed in her room, choosing to explain the presence of her second self via text message, which was probably a good idea according to both of the lizards. "welp, this is kinda a downer." Sans chuckled. "we get to see the surface, but not only is there a war, we're also having to do some hard work."

"Y-Yeah… heh.. T-that's um… going to be something…"

"Ay, at least we get to see it. Ya never know what might happen in our timeline."  
"Yeah, m-maybe there's some way we can h-help people at home too!"

"and once we get back home from here, we know exactly how to fix the machine."

"Heh… t-that's when the real work begins though… right?"

"uh-huh. sounds about right to me." As the two continued to exchange comments, easing their anxious anticipation. It was only a few minutes longer before they were greeted with an energetic shout to break the mood.


	12. Chapter 12 - Hoc Anno

" **do you remember who the previous royal scientist was**?"

Alphys stared at the familiar Sans from the couch. The house had suddenly grown quiet, that or she had only now noticed. She didn't bother to try to recall. "N-No…"

Sans nodded. " **shouldn't you though?** "

A moment passed.

" **have you heard of doctor gaster?** "

The royal scientist gave a small nod; a faint recollection had sprung in her mind from seemingly nowhere. "H-He the one who was the p-previous r-royal scientist… r-right?"

" **yup, one of the best too**." Sans' grin seemed to somehow grow. " **he made the... machine. it was his solution to the growing population, and maybe the barrier. he didn't wanna risk going back in time and creating paradoxes. instead of jumping back in time he'd go to different timelines, they'd nearly be parallel universes; one of them had to of been able to support us.** "

"Th-then what happened? How did that machine g-get so…"

" **i'm getting to that.** " Sans stuck both of his hands in his hoodie packet a shook his head. " **he'd set up a program in order to gather data on each of the timelines... but the data had corrupted.. and for some reason…** "

"F-For some reason?"  
Sans was silent. It was at this moment, as Alphys glanced away, she noticed a subtle fading expression of shock on the face of the Sans of the timeline they had visited. "Uh…. a-are you…"

" **i'm alright, no sweat.** " They both said in unison.

The Sans she was more recently acquainted with took over. " **complications split him across time and space; if we're to be preventing paradoxes, the only way to help would to be retrieving him.** "

"O-Oh..."

" **but you guys didn't choose to arrive here, and it's unlikely that he's here. you both just need to get back for now.** "

Alphys decided to shed what she could of the current atmosphere. "Y-Yeah! Let's g-get to work. I-It m-might take a while, b-but we know what we're doing." She swung her tail back around her legs and attempted an inspirational smile… which wasn't too convincing.

" **we don't have much of a choice.** " Sans shrugged and turned briefly to himself. " **is the machine in the usual spot?** "

" **well yeah, but… that's not our major problem here…** "

"W-Wait a second… t-there's a major problem?" Alphys let out an exasperated exhale.

" **Materials; given how the underground is now, they're kinda being put inta… somethin' else.** "

" **welp, we have to get them sometime. let's just go on a supply run now. maybe we can pick up another doctor on the way?** " The first of the Sans-es winked over to Alphys, which only helped to make the prospect slightly more uncomfortable. " **alright then. i'll show you to a shortcut.** "

It was only a few moments before all three had arrived in the throne room, glistening with the usual golden flowers. A single monster was rushing straight through the flowerbed, to the northern exit, a series of papers in his mouth. The flowers seemed to have been tread over several times within the last few hours.

The one person who knew what's going on turned around. " **alphys is working in asgore's residence.** " He announced nonchalantly. " **king is out most of the time, so he doesn't mind. she's working on technologies.** "

"I a-am? W-Why would I be..."

" **i think i get it…** " Sans glanced over to Alphys. " **where would that monster of been going, back in asgore's garden?** " Alphys took her time coming to the next conclusion.

"Y-You don't mean-"

" **yeah, we're sorta at war.** " Sans winked back at himself. " **grats.** "

"T-That's… k-kinda a problem…"

" **yup, most of our materials are kind of being in exhausted**." The three of them were already walking up Asgore's stairs; soon Sans knocked on one of the doors in Asgore's side hallway. "O-Oh! H-Hold on! Coming!" There was a series of clanks from the room as the second doctor rushed to the door. "H-Hiya! S-Sorry I w-was w-working... you know, c-circumstances. I-I-I…" The doctor fell silent for a moment.. "What."

All three of them slid into the absurdly cluttered room, this timeline's Alphys took a seat at her worktable.

"O-Oh! S-So you two are k-kind o-of er… s-stranded, huh…"

" **pretty much.** "

"O-Okay, b-based off your account I'm pretty sure we c-can atleast get the machine in the condition it was when you used it… it's just l-learning h-how to c-control it.."

" **given that you two were able to get it to function in the first place, i'll leave all the hard work to you both.** "

"Th-The hard part will be getting materials. M-Most e-everything has b-been moved up to o-one of the c-camps on the s-surface… and you know how that is…"

The older Sans shrugged. " **i'll head back home and get to work on my part.** " Apparently he had already been voted to be the one to catch this timeline's machine up to speed. " **it's an easy job, i'm just following instructions; you're busy anyway alphys.** "

"W-Wait! S-So y-you're telling us to go onto the surface and grab materials from an actual battle field!"

" **welp, our alphys is kinda busy, and someone's gotta do what you did. 'sides at least one of you'll be doing more timeline hoping later, think of it as practice.** "

"I-I'll see if I c-can g-get the r-royal guard to cover you. It might t-take a bit of explaining but…" The older of the two swung her chair around and flipped open her computer. "I m-mean a-at th-this rate, a-a break w-would pr-probably be nice r-right?"

Alphys and Sans ended up seating themselves at Asgore's dining table as they waited for their escort. The other Alphys had stayed in her room, choosing to explain the presence of her second self via text message, which was probably a good idea, according to both of the lizards.

" **welp, this is kinda a downer.** " Sans chuckled. " **we get to see the surface, but not only is there a war, we're also having to do some hard work.** "

"Y-Yeah… heh.. T-that's um… gonna to be something…"

" **ay, at least we get to see it. ya never know what might happen in** _ **our**_ **timeline.** "  
"Yeah, m-maybe there's some way we can h-help people back at home with this information too!"

" **and once we get back home from here, we know exactly how to fix our machine**."

"Heh… t-that's when the real work begins for you though… right?"

" **uh-huh. sounds about right to me. fruits of my efforts are really starting to surface, huh?** " The two continued to exchange comments, and the occasional bad joke, easing their anxious anticipation. It was only a few minutes longer before they were greeted with an energetic shout to break the mood.


	13. Chapter 13 - Fiat Lux

"HEY, YOU PUNKS!"

Alphys let out a brief shriek and jumped from her seat. The head of the royal guard stared down at the two, she slowly lowering her pointed finger towards them. "S-S-Sorry! I d-didn't mean to… I mean… I was just-"

The warrior tilted her head and smirked. "Hah! I knew it was possible! I guess she finally took my idea, huh?"

" **uh…"** Sans had slid out of his chair. " **your idea?"**

"MY IDEA. THE ONE THAT WE CLONE OTHER MONSTERS, OF COURSE!" The fish warrior dramatically made a fist at the air. "THIS IS AWESOME!"

"um… not to burst your bubble-" Alphys didn't know if this was an intentional pun or even counted as one, but grimaced anyway. "-but we're not clones. we'd be younger… or like different or something."

"Oh…" The fish monster narrowed her eyes. "Wait a second. If you're not clones… YOU'RE TIME TRAVELLERS, AREN'T YOU? YOU'RE FROM THE FUTURE TO TELL ASGORE HOW WRONG HE IS! I'M RIGHT AREN'T I? I KNEW ALPHYS WAS WORKING HERSELF TO DEATH FOR SOME REASON!"

" **N-N-No w-w-we're not f-from the…"** Sans took over for the stuttering mess. " **yes and no. we're from an alternate timeline. it seems like we've verified the multiverse theory.** " Sans dropped this fact as if it was no big deal.

"Really? That's awesome!" Undyne seemed perfectly okay with believing this, despite it coming from absolutely nowhere. "Oh right, I'm supposed to escort you two to the surface bases, aren't I?" Undyne shrugged. "Well, I guess we should get moving. We can talk on the way there."

Sans took the rear as the group strided back down the long hallways of New Home. Despite Sans and Alphys being the visitors, the royal guardswoman led with the questions. "So! Where you come from! What's happened? How are things different?"

"W-Well um… t-the barrier is still up for one. W-We only have six h-human souls."

"Only six, huh?" The warrior glanced back at the doctor and gestured to herself. "Have you met me yet?"

"U-Um… n-no?"

"Well! Sorry to spoil the fun for you! I'm Undyne by the way."  
"O-Oh… o-okay!" Alphys glanced away and made a mental note to look out for any Undynes at their home timeline.

" **so then, why dontcha unload all the information on us. we've still got a few facts we need to patch up on. we really didn't fish for any information before coming here.** "

"I see you're just as much as a loser as always." Undyne gave a throaty chuckle.

" **sounds about right.** "

"Well there isn't much _to_ say really. Asgore's absorbed the souls, we're fightin' humans. Freedom is coming and such."

"W-What w-was that a-about Asgore e-earlier then?"

"Oh… that? He's just er… under a lot of stress right now is all! He'll be fine, don't you worry about it." Undyne stretched back her arms and cracked her knuckles. "Anyway, you both are gonna get to see the surface for the first time in a few minutes! I mean it's kind of a surface in the middle of a war, but you'll still get to see it!"

" **i guess that's pretty exciting.** "

"YOU GUESS? Dude, monsters have been imprisoned for so many years and you're just-"

" **yup.** "

"H-How can you say that!" Alphys had finally decided to speak up, swallowing the slowly tightening knot in her throat. "W-Well I g-g-guess since i-it's only temporary… since w-we're going b-back to o-our timeline soon… it'll b-be sort of… um… sort of… w-wrong maybe?"

"Wrong, huh?" Undyne went through a rare moment of silence. "I guess I can sorta see that. It's just all gonna disappear, huh. After you-" She paused again."Wait! You guys are just going back! That's it? What's the point of timeline hopping if you don't do anything cool!"

" **well, we gotta make sure we can safely travel first. getting here was a fluke really.** "

"Huh… I guess that makes sense." Undyne gave another smile, broadcasting her fangs clearly. "I'm sure Alphys knows exactly what she's doing! You'll be able to travel wherever you guys need once we're done." Eventually the three stood in the cavern hallway. Undyne summoned a spear and grasped it in her hand, dramatically pounding it against the stone floor. "This is where the barrier was. I know it's a big deal for you guys but I do pass through here all the time. I'll give you both some time but after a few minutes we're going to have to get moving."

Sans shrugged. " **like i said, no big deal.** "

"Alright, I'll keep watch." Undyne nodded at the two and let them move forward, following the natural arch of the pathway upwards. Eventually they emerged from a large opening on the side of the mountain. Sunlight absorbed itself into the pair's eyes. Sans walked to the ledge without a word and sat, letting his feet hang in the air. Alphys slowly followed, keeping his vigil of wordlessness for a moment longer.

The air smelt unnaturally clean, and the sun radiated down onto the lizard's skin warming her in a manner much more pleasantly than that of the Hotland magama. The air above them was eventually tinted an unrelenting blue, and extended vertically in a manner that felt endless. The flora below them was an almost pure green, not dotted with snow, or clinging to walls. The sun seemed to illuminate each detail of the landscape endlessly. There was one distant city, that gave an aura of atypical murmurings, as opposed to the loud bustle that it would be rumoured to have, though this was probably just the context letting them assume what could be heard quite a while away.

Sans chuckled. " **guess it is kinda cool, even if we've done nothing to earn it, and even if it's temporary.** "

"K-Kind of! Th-This is… this is e-even better th-than… I m-mean…" The skeleton chuckled.

" **I guess that you could say-** "

"No Sans."  
" **aw, come on, why don't you-** "

"You will not ruin the surface with another pun."

" **well i guess i'll let you off the hook for now, but as soon as we get back underground i'm having my revenge.** " He punctuated his last word with visible quotation marks.

"A-Alright, fine."


	14. Chapter 14 - Pro Bono Publico

"You're both done? Finally! Took you long enough!" Undyne seemed to have dented the ground below her in her impatience.

"S-Sorry! Sorry!"

Undyne laughed Alphys' apologies off. "It's fine. This is where things actually get tricky, anyway. I needed some time to get my energy up before this." Undyne glanced down at Alphys, a large smile crept up her face, making her fangs more than visible "You ready for this nerd?"

"W-Wh-What? R-Ready for what? Wh-What do you?"

"Sans! Don't pretend you don't have your shortcuts! I don't want any excuses! You know what to do."

" **huh?"**

Undyne swiftly wrapped an arm around Alphys and lifted her over her own shoulder.

"W-Wh-Wha-"

The fish warrior chuckled. "Hang on, punk. I don't know that we'll make it if I have to come back for you."

Alphys fumbled around until she could adjust her glasses. "Y-You're just joking, right?"

The warrior of course didn't bother to answer and sped forward at a rate just under Papyrus' speeds.

She darted the doctor straight down the mountainside and into the forest, instantly leaving the trail and eagerly hopping around outcrops of plants and rock. The doctor tried to swallow any sharp exclamation in fear that what Undyne had commented on was true. The fish monster seemed to be enjoying herself plenty. "Wanna go up?"

"U-Up?"

"Like this!" She shouted, throwing a spear straight at a tree and jumping atop it. She propelled herself into a branch parkour, that probably caused the trees to lose a few years of work. This time that doctor did yelp.

"And one more!" Undyne threw a spear straight on top of a two story apartment building, grabbing it as she leapt from a cracking branch. She shook the foundation as soon as she landed. Alphys instantly let go, panting despite her lack of actually physical activity.

"Aw yeah! That was AWESOME! What a workout!" Undyne dramatically raised her fist to the sky. "Th-That was… something… alright." Alphys laughed through her uncommonly high-pitched voice. She spoke again after an inhale. "A-Are we safe here?"

"Yup! Us monsters have taken this town! Pretty impressive right?"

"S-Sure… I guess so…"

Sans eventually found the roof the two of them were perched on.

" **really? did you have to do that?"**

"Of course we did!"

Sans shook his head, not bothering to respond further.

"Anyway, we should go and see Asgore about those materials if we can. He's been pretty busy, lately, but with luck-"

Sans shrugged and let Undyne try to figure out her way down off the roof. She ended up just smashing it and jumping down to a lower floor. "Asgore's using this old office building in the middle of town. He's basically like the main force of the entire war, since you need a human soul to even stand a chance. He's trying to make policies twenty-four seven, despite being our best bet."

"D-Do y-you k-know why?"

"I dunno. Recently he's been all. 'Don't do this to any of the humans. Don't take souls from people who aren't soldiers. No attacking villagers.' It's getting annoying."

" **annoying? that just seems like good policy to me.** "

"I mean yeah but he's clearly got a few screws loose; I mean, he won't even let my absorb a soul! I'm the captain of the Royal Guard! I'm like…our second best bet! I know he's like… invincible, but he's hardly doing anything! He's even trying for peace accords! I mean, gees! Can't you use your godly powers for _something_? People are dying out there!" Undyne got progressively more fired up as she spoke. "You can like… destroy entire battlefields and you're just trying for peace! We've been imprisoned forever!"

"R-Really? I-Is that wh-what's happening?"  
"And it gets worse, he's splitting monsters apart like this, we don't need a civil war ontop of this! It's ridiculous, just use your god powers already! Why is he refusing to be totally awesome!"

"Y-Yeah, y-you've um… d-definitely got a p-point there."

"SEE! I KNEW YOU'D AGREE WITH ME!"

Undyne's shouting had caught the attention of one of the royal guard. "Undyne." A royal guardsmen in full armor saluted her. "Oh, 02! Heh." Undyne shook her head. "I'm here to see Asgore."

"Again?"

"Yes again! You have a problem with that, punk!" He flinched briefly, putting a hand to his chest. "Of course not. I'll show you there." The guardsman turned around and led the trio further into the city, Undyne rushed up and stood beside him. "Has anything even _happened_ these past few days?"

"No." He informed. "The humans are probably still trying to get help from others."

Undyne nodded. "They still aren't convinced where even here, huh?"  
"Yes…"

"Well, disadvantage to them then! We've got initiative because of it!" Undyne narrowed her visible eye. "You and 01 still a thing?"

"... Maybe."

Sans got a good chuckle out of this. " **welp, there's no need for you to dragon like this. you don't need to be coy about what you're going through.** " Alphys swore she could see an eyebrow raise from the skeletons blank face, it seemed like he'd been acquainted with the royal guard's antics,.

"Sans! St-Stop it!"

" **ya sure about that? I have plenty more i could claw from my brain**."

"Y-You said you would-" Undyne glanced back at the two of them.

"Why of all people did you let him tag along?"

"Asgore." Undyne knocked on the door of the building briefly, her voice was bit more toned down than normal. "Are you busy?"

"Of course not Undye. You can come in." The warrior slowly opened the door, eying Asgore, who was sitting in his throne he had moved to the small room. "Would you like a chair, Undyne?"  
"No, it's cool. I can stand."

"What about your guests? They surely would like to relax, wouldn't they?"

Undyne did the answering for them "Eh, I guess so."

"I have found some of those foldable chairs that humans are most fond of. They are not the most comfortable but-"

"It'll do. I'll go get them." Undye paced over towards a storage closet and stepped inside the room, there was a series of clangs, she returned with two chairs before anyone could worry about potential damage..

"So, what is it that you want today Undyne?"

"It's not me this time Asgore It's these two, they're working on an invention. We need to see if you can spare some parts; most everything from the underground was brought up here for the war effort."

"Take whatever you need, I do not mind." The king shook his head, briefly holding a hand to his chest, exhaling.

"Yeah, you probably don't need half the stuff we provide to you,you know with your powers and all." Undyne seemed to be attempting encouragement.  
"I believe there is a warehouse down the street. That is where we keep what we aren't using."  
"Alright! Thanks!" Alphys was beginning to wonder why they had even bothered getting out chairs.

"Undyne, one more thing if you don't mind."

"Yeah?"  
"Do be careful, I hear some monsters have been particularly on edge recently."

"Yeah, alright. I get it."

"O-On edge?" Alphys prodded as soon as the pair stepped out the door. "Yeah on edge. There's a huge divide over the war and all. Some monsters want to seek vengeance on all of humanity, others are more er... merciful." Undyne clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "The humans are less of a threat than we are to each other honestly." She planted her palm lightly in her face. "It's ridiculous. All these years of waiting only for us to get to the surface and split into pieces."

" **the humans are less of a threat? have their been battles between you guys**?"

"Well the humans are insanely wimpy for one! I mean sure, they've got advanced technology but Asgore can stand up to anything. You just need a soul to stand a chance. According to our data though they're trying to get help from all the other human factions 'n stuff, but they won't believe in us. How pathetic!" Both of her escortee instantly reminded her she was dodging the question.

"Y-Yeah… I guess there have been a few battles…" Undyne shook her head. "It hasn't helped Asgore, much." She broke into shouting before anyone could press further. "BUT EVERYTHING FROM HERE ON OUT IS GONNA BE EASY! WE'RE GOING TO WIN THIS STUPID WAR AND TAKE BACK THE SURFACE WORLD! WE'VE GOT THIS, AND NO STUPID HUMANS CAN STAND IN OUR WAY! NGAAAAAAH!"

Undyne brought herself back into focus."Oh… looks like we're at the warehouse." They'd actually being standing in front of it for a few moments. "Okay, we're just gonna take back everything even remotely time travel related! I'm sure that's enough." Undyne refused to bother with the lock and speared down the door. "So... just tell me what you think we need... and maybe what we don't, too."

The two nodded briefly and slid inside with Undyne close behind. The two were confronted with a half organized warehouse. Each item separated by category. Some were separated into shelves and basins, while other had been left in an unorganized pile. Sans seemed to be amused by this. " **it looks like what happens when papyrus tries to clean my room. naturally, all the more recent stuff would be left in a pile somewhere, that's probably where the better supplies are.** " Alphys had slidebetween a few cabinets to get to the machinery section. She decided to take Sans' advice and began climbing up the pile of scrap metal. She began to reach for a particularly useful looking human device, something that looked like part of a larger structure, when the parts her feet were placed on began to vibrate.

"S-Sans? Un-Undyne?" The shaking slowly speed up with time. Undyne had already climbed up next to her and was summoning a spear, she was about to fork through the metal when a few pieces began to crumble from place. The steel beneath the warriors feet began to give. "Ha! You think you're clever, huh? TRY THIS!" Shards of machinery lurched upward and at Alphys' face, the supplies quickly become to topple into a wave of parts. Alphys felt herself being flung backwards with the fall. Several discard fragments forced her down to the ground. She would of fell further into the mess if she hadn't been jolted upward by Sans' magic.

The pile of supplies had flooded into a carpeting of metal, a single hill was left where the mountain was. The doctor was standing on one of the sturdier shelves next to the skeleton, who was eyeing the mess.

" **there.** "

he gestured to a rustling below the mess. Two cat ears peeped out from below, followed by a whole Undyne, breaking several parts in the process. "I've got you you punk! Now tell me what exactly do you think you're-"

"No! Tem kNOw yOus will regret dIs! very bAAAD, yOus shud lEet go O tem Or- oR u wiLL-"

Another feminine voice cut off Temmie's attempted threats.

"That is quite enough Temmie. You need not concern yourself any further. I will handle this myself."


	15. Chapter 15 - Per Contra

Undyne froze and slowly turned her head to the voice. There stood a tall standing goat woman, eyes narrowed, and with her ignited palm facing the warrior.

"HoI!" The temmie started happily wagging it's little stub. "GoAt pErsns! TeM find…. intruDrs! YAYA!" The cat creature started happily vibrating.

"That is very impressive Temmie. I see you have… performed your job successfully." Even the goat woman seemed to be a fazed by the small monsters antics. Undyne dropped the creature and turned to face who was quite clearly the ex-queen.

"What are you doing here!" The queen knew full well she didn't need to answer. "You think you can just come in here and wreck our supplies! We're at war here!"

"I am sure you are aware that that is exactly why we are here. Now if you would kindly get out of the way and-"

"NEVER follow orders!" A crescent shaped ice blade slung itself at Undyne from where Alphys and Sans were perched. Undyne quickly slashed it down with her spear, only getting hit by a few dull shards. A certain bird jumped onto the shelf alongside them. He knocked off his sunglasses, though only barely with his tiny wing, and caught them in his beak. Alphys' best guess was that he did this to look mildly impressive. He somehow spoke fluently with the sunglasses being held there. "You can't keep me caged! Nothing will defy my defiance!" The drake cackled, seemingly unaware that the two were right next to him. "Chilldrake! You will get down from there this instant! I told you directly-"

"NEVER listen to authority!" The bird defiantly stomped on the already unsteady shelf

" **wow dude, chill out. there's snow need to be so hothead. seriously you guys, always so fiery.** "

This caught the woman's attention. "You're…" Sans gently poked Alphys in the side.

" **welp, we really can't afford to stay around here old lady. you're really distracting us from our goal. we're just grabbing some things and leaving.** " It took the doctor a moment.

"Excuse me! What exactly do you think you are doing! Are you meaning to tell me you completely forgot about what you promised me." Despite the accusations Sans seemed to be enjoy himself plenty.

" **of course not, this has nothing to do with that old lady.** "

The royal scientist grimaced as she dropped down onto the ground.

" **i'm not trying to get anyone killed trust me, i just need these for a project of mine.** "

"Enough talk! More death!" Chilldrake clawed at the skeleton, who stepped to the side, precariously balancing on the edge of the shelf and maneuvering behind the bird. Temmie let out a happy shriek, and flew onto of Chilldrake's head. Using it as a nest. "Yaya! TeM wanT to Do thiNs!"

"I understand you two are very restless but we can not afford to act recklessly." The queen glanced over at Undyne.

"What are you trying to say punk! I'll show you! You can't just come in here and undermine Asgore like this!" She began charging through the mess of the room straight at the goat woman. Toriel ignited her fist in response. Reaching forward the ex-queen grasped the weapon once it was within arms distance. Her hands were still aflame but Undyne continued to press the spear against her grip.

Chilldrake dramatically jumped to the floor, Temmie still perched in his head. She shot out a paw from a few feet away at Undyne. She was forced to step away from Toriel and dodge, the goat woman followed with a wall of flames that Undyne attempted to sidestep. She ended up getting nicked by the fire, and found herself grasping at her arm. "You!"  
"I do not desire to harm you. All I ask is that you leave at once."

"Leave? What's wrong with you! This place isn't yours!" Undyne surrounded her with spears from the ground in response.

" **yo, can we… i dunno, be civil about this maybe**?"

"BE CIVIL! SANS! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING! SHE'S NOT EVEN LETTING US GRAB MATERIALS!"

" **yeah, but engaging in a fight won't help**."

"I advise you listen to your… companion." The ex-queen lifted her chin towards Sans.

" **nah, you've got it all wrong. this hasn't nothing to do with any war, and i'm not trying to sabotage any side either.** "

"We can't just let her get away with this!" Undyne was only growing more irritated by the second, which would definitely not serve anyone well.

"If you would like this to be resolved civilly we can do so. I just ask that this war is resolved without any further bloodshed."

"Do you really think we can do that! After all these years of imprisonment you think that every monster is just gonna lie down and let that happen! Do you really think you can just resolve things by making up all peachy like! OH, I'm so sorry our race killed most of your kind! Let's all make up and happily praise each other into OBLIVION until every problem is resolved!"

Toriel sighed. "That is not what I am suggesting, there is going to be difficulty, but I believe that both humans and monster can live together. There is still a chance if we can end the war early."

Alphys tapped the shelf lightly, just enough so it would slightly wobble. The skeleton was eventually beside her.

" **you grab what ya could**?"

"Y-Yeah, it's in the dimensional box." She hesitated. "W-We sh-should probably inform A-Asgore j-just in case…" She suggested in murmur.

" **that might make things worse…** "

"Y-Yeah b-but…" The doctor resumed her tendency of breaking eye contact. "W-we are k-kind of…"

" **okay, we'll give it a shot. we started this anyhow; 'sides he probably won't come out here himself.** " Sans grabbed at the doctor's lab coat and started dragging her towards more clutter. " **come on, the shortcut's this way.** "

The skeleton went inside the office himself to inform Asgore, knowing full well the doctor would probably exaggerate the matter in some way or another. Alphys habitually sorted the parts she'd gathered, perhaps in response to nerves, or just pure boredom.

" **welp. let's report back to me. I'm sure he's got a free couch for me tonight.** "

"W-Wait, w-where does that leave me?"

" **eh, you'll figure it out.** "

"S-Sans!"

" **what, would you like me to do something to cush-** "  
"Okay, okay, just don't-"  
" **you're smiling…** "

"Am not!"

" **well, given our luck, we should probably get moving. ready for another shortcut?** "

"N-Not like we have much of a choice, do we?" Alphys gave a faint chuckle.

" **alright, time to go then.** "


	16. Chapter 16 - Rebus Sic Stantibus

Alphys' eyes had to take a moment to adjust to the change in light level in Sans and Papyrus' house. She had been placed on the same green couch as before. She barely could see Sans from her angle, he was fixing himself something in the kitchen, which Sans she had no idea.

" **ay-o.** " The other Sans swung down from atop one of the back pillows, his head pressed into one of the back supports " **we stole your phone and took the parts you stashed, no big deal right?** " Sans passed it back to her. "W-Wait when did y-you have time to-"  
" **anyway, the trip took a lot out of me, and we've been through enough shenanigans anyway.** "

"Um…" Alphys concluded it probably wasn't worth the effort to try to get an answer to her previous question. "A-Alright."

" **so we agreed we're just relaxing till we can get ourselves some shut-eye. do whatever you want.** "

Alphys, though she disliked her lack of agency, was somewhat grateful for the good opportunity to relax in a familiar-ish area and fully and finally accept that they had proven the multiverse theory and possibly trapped themselves at some point in an alternate timeline. She did as the average monster would probably do from here, other than freaking out of course; try to figure out whatever information might benefit her.

Firstly, the shattered barrier; knowing about the circumstances around that would be useful. Alphys attempted to project her voice to the kitchen, it was a rather pathetic attempt.

"H-Hey um… w-when exactly did the barrier break for you guys?"

" **oh, let's see… bout three months ago.** " A calendar was suddenly in her lap. A date was circled in red marker, in small print the words under it read:

" _ **end of years upon years of imprisonment… yay.**_ "

" _YAY? SANS, WE NEED MORE FANFARE THAN JUST YAY!"  
_ " _ **good for us.**_ "

" _SANS!"_

" _ya got a problem with some fanfare?"_

" _I'LL SHOW YOU HOW IT'S DONE… JUST YOU WAIT SANS!"  
_ The state of the calender suggested Sans was still waiting, to be fair you'd have to flip back the callander a few pages. Alphys took a moment to punch the date and year into her phone. There had to be some way that she could make use of with that information. The date was further away than she would have liked though. She asked how it was broke as well, the answer didn't bode well for her research.

"O-Okay so… um... do I do anything er... important? In this timeline I mean..." The current timeline's Sans swung over and sat atop the television, throwing a bag of chips to Alphys.

" **you do science things.** " He responded casually.

"U-uh… you're going to have to be more specific."

" **you've got your hands full already doctor. no point stressing you out further.** "

"St-stressing me out?"

" **well, i mean, it's nothin' to worry over. just a lot to live up too is all. You need to focus on getting home now.** "

"S-Sans!"

"' **sides , you're going to keep helping me out aren't you?** "

"W-What I um… er… m-maybe…"

" **and you'll be meeting a few people through your work. nothing's set in stone anyway. let's focus on getting time travel working again.** "

The doctor found herself wrapping her tail around her legs again.

" **so, anything else you wanna ask?** "

"O-Oh r-right… Um… about Mettaton. Oh and um… Sans might like some information..."

" **well mettaton basically rules the television world down here, things get canceled left in right for his 'higher quality' replacements. as for me… i'm just the same lazy bag of bones, nothing seems to want to break that formula.** "

"L-Lazy?" Alphys certainly hadn't gotten that impression recently, well not enough to make it his firstmost trait.

There was a brief loud knock on the door. Alphys moved to get off the couch but it swung open soon after, hitting the table directly beside it. "SANS!"

" **hey bro.** " The taller skeleton took a satchel off his armplates and threw it at his brother's face. " **thanks.** " So this was the ever elusive Papyrus, the doctor had kept hearing brief mentions of him but he had never shown his face to her, though he was probably quite a bit older here.

"AND NO KETCHUP THIS TIME! WE NEED HIGH SPIRITS NOT LOW QUALITY CONDIMENTS!"

" **and who's to say that ketchup can't make a monster happy, side's aren't condiments the spice of life**?"

"WELL I KNOW THAT PUNS WON'T BRIGHTEN ANYONE'S DAY!"

" **they already have plenty of light in their lives, bro**."

"OF COURSE THEY DO, ALL THANKS TO MY VERY IMPORTANT ROYAL-GUARDSMEN POSITION." Which, given what Alphys could pick up was likely just a glorified cheerleader.

" **nah bro, was talkin' bout the sun.** "

"EXCUSE ME! SANS! I WILL NOT TOLERATE ANY DISRESPECT, ESPECIALLY FROM A _FORMER_ SENTRY LIKE YOU!"

" **what do you have against former sentries**?"

"I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING AGAINST- I JUST MEAN- UGH! NEVERMIND, IT'S NOT IMPORTANT!" The skeleton began to storm towards his room, when he stopped mid-stride, leaving a leg in the air. "WELL HELLO THERE ROYAL SCIENTIST LADY, ER… I MEAN… DOCTOR AL… ALL..FEE…"

"A-Alphys."

"YES, ALPHYS! RIGHT! THAT REMINDS ME… AHEM.." The doctor didn't question how he sounded like he was clearing his throat. Papyrus pointed a single finger at the space between Alphys and Sans he then squinted his eyes. " **WHAT IN THE WORLD WHERE YOU PUNKS THINKING! YOU CAN'T JUST RUN OFF LIKE THAT! DO YOU HAVE ANY HONOR SANS? FLEEING AND CALLING FOR BACK-UP! YOU MADE US LOOK LIKE COWARDS! I MEAN YOU DID GET THE PARTS FOR ALPHYS BUT STILL… COWARDS! A TON OF WIMPS! FUHUHUHUHU! GET READY PUNK, YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS EVENTUALLY!"** Papyurs placed his hand infront of his chest and gave a thumbs up. "AAAAAND THAT'S WHAT UNDYNE SAID!" Alphys felt like her eardrums where going to bleed, their was no need for Papyrus to raise his voice even further.

"Well, don't blame me bro. I didn't do anything." Papyrus wasn't even pointing at his real brother, but when he turned to the television he probably assumed the skeleton was messing with him again.

"SANS! SHE REFERRED TO YOU SPECIFICALLY."

" **yup, she was referring to the other me.** "

"THE OTHER…" Papyrus had just now realized that the two were indeed not one and the same. The Sans that Alphys was familiar with had at some point short-cutted his way up the stairs and was leaning over the banister, chuckling to himself at Papyrus' Undyne impression. Due to this angle both where in his vision. "HOW DREADFUL…" Papyrus didn't ever seemed all that surprised. "LESSER-SANS, GET DOWN HERE IMMEDIATELY! IF I HEAR A SINGLE PUN FROM YOU YOU'LL BOTH BE DEAD TO ME!"

Alphys had a feeling that this would go on a while, especially given the slightly petty 'lesser-sans' title. She slunk out of the couch, grabbed something from the kitchen, and elected to stay in the inn to avoid the shouting. It was as cozy as always, and this time more welcoming, which seemed near impossible given how it usually was. Out on the counter was a folded sheet of paper that displayed a neatly written note, handwriting she knew she'd never surpass: _I'm in the capital working with my sister to help however we can! Feel free to stay as long as you like, free of charge, we're all in this together! Have a good night._ The royal scientist got herself a room, shot Sans a text, and burrowed herself under the bedsheets.


	17. Ad Interim

Mettaton slid his wheel through the coating of snow into the town. Doctor Alphys couldn't hide forever. It was more than overdue for her to work on his true form. He knew exactly where she'd try hiding out too. Oh, how predictable the doctor could be. It didn't take long to find the residence of that skeleton, Asgore knew practically everyone and was always happy to assist. 'Always assume positive intent' was probably something he followed nowadays, my oh my the king was getting soft.

The robot hopped up the steps and knocked briefly on the door of the residence. There was a distant clank from inside that almost caught him off-guard. The door swung open far earlier than he expected.

"OH…" A young skeleton stood in the doorway, looking slightly disappointed at the robot's appearance. He must've been a strange relative. He looked around the beginning of the double digited years. Just young enough to still have some appeal when it came to cuteness.

"Oh, why hello there darling! I am so dreadfully sorry to bother you. I'm looking for a certain scientist: she's yellow scaled, a huge dork-" Mettaton dismissively waved a plastic hand "-have you seen her?"

"NO, I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY SCIENCE LADIES. HAVE YOU SEEN ANY SKELETONS LIKE THAT MISTER? WITHOUT THE SCALES I MEAN."

The robot played a small chuckle. "Why yes, I have but not recently no. The two of them were together as far as I knew."

"HUH, REALLY? I DIDN'T KNOW SANS HAD FRIENDS OTHER THAN ME! SO UM… DO YOU THINK THEY BOTH DISAPPEARED TOO?"

"Oh, so you haven't seen him in a while? Interesting…"

The skeleton smiled at his subpar deductive skills. "SO ARE YOU GOING TO HELP ME FIND HIM BOX PERSON?"

"P-Pardon me? B-Box person?"

"YEAH, BECAUSE YOU'RE A BOX, AND A PERSON."

"Well I guess that's one way to put it darling, but no, I'm Mettaton."

"OH THAT ONE GUY THAT'S ON ALL THE TVS!" Television programming was surprisingly underutilized underground. "IT'S USUALLY YOU OR THAT RED HERO GUY, LIKE ALL THE TIME!" The robot didn't particularly care for the comment. "OH, AND ALSO THE KING PERSON! WOWIE! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOUR SOMEONE WHO CAN BE IN THE SAME TELEVISION AS HEROES AND THE KING! THIS MUST BE BIG!" The skeleton's smile expanded. "HUH… WAIT A SECOND! YOU TOLD ME YOUR NAME…" He put a hand just below his 'lips' and dramatically looked like he was failing to ponder something. "IS DISAPPEARING MONSTERS A SUPER HUGE PROBLEM CREATED BY THE BAD GUYS? ARE YOU HERE TO GET HELP?" The robot saw no reason not to take advantage of his enthusiasm.

"Why of course darling! We can't just sit idly by and watch everyone disappear from us now can we?"

"OF COURSE NOT! HOLD ON, I'LL GO GET MY CAPE." The skeleton turned around and propelled himself to the upper floor of his house with his legs.

"OKAY MISTER ROBOT." Papyrus had fastened himself an overly large red cape around his neck, and climbed onto the bots head. "AS MY SIDEKICK, YOU WILL LEAD ME TO WHERE SANS IS!"

"Well darling, since he's now officially missing, as decreed by me, what should we do first?"  
"UH… LOOK FOR HIM?"

"Now, now, we need to do better than that, don't we." Mettaton was already rolling towards Waterfall.

"WELL LET'S SEE… THE HERO USUALLY GETS HELP FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE GOOD AT FINDING THINGS!"

"Is that implying you have trouble find things?" Papyrus stood atop the metal. "OF COURSE NOT! I AM PERFECTLY GOOD AT FINDING THINGS, IT'S JUST THAT SOME PEOPLE ARE BETTER THAN ME, BETTER THAN ME AT THAT ANYWAY, THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS BETTER OVERALL."

"Well I suppose we could arrange for someone like that." Mettaton tried to steady the angle he rolled at so that the skeleton wouldn't fall off.

"SO DO YOU KNOW PEOPLE WHO ARE GOOD AT FINDING THINGS?"

"Of course darling! Anyone in the whole underground is within my reach, and why shouldn't they be?"

"WOWIE! ALRIGHT MISTER BOT! SHOW ME YOUR SUPER CONTACTING POWERS! WE WILL FIND SANS AND YOUR SCIENCE LADY IN NO TIME LIKE THIS!"

* * *

"Here should do, don't you think?" Papyrus jumped off the robot and onto the ground of Hotland. "WHAT IS HERE GOING TO DO, MISTER BOT PERSON?"

"Well that's easy darling." The robot snapped his fingers and a set of camera monsters seemingly appeared from nowhere. The robot opened up a panel on his back and deployed a whole television set, featuring his usual podium, an ornate couch for Papyrus, a small green screen between the two, and even a fancy carpet.

The little skeleton's jaw dropped. "HOW DID YOU DO THAT? SHOW ME HOW TO DO IT THIS INSTANT!" Mettaton shrugged with his arms, one of the few actions he could do.

"Darling, I'm afraid this 'superpower' is only for truly glamorous robots like me."

"AWWWW, BUT I WAS IMAGINING THE POSSIBILITIES ALREADY! IMAGINE IF A SUPER MONSTER LIKE ME STOPPED BAD GUYS BY ASSEMBLING A WHOLE ROOM AROUND THEM, FULL OF AMAZING TRAPS THAT ONLY THE HERO CAN GET PAST!"

"My my, I suppose that could be _interesting_ but my room-assembly isn't why we're here."

"IT'S NOT?"

"Oh no darling, we're going to contact everyone in the underground and tell them all about our missing monsters. Using the real super power of television!" Mettaton was clearly enjoying himself too much for his own good.

"OH WOWWIE! YOU MEAN YOU'RE GONNA PUT ME IN THAT BOX THING?"

"Yes, now why don't you sit down and we'll get started!"

"Alright!" Papyrus promptly hauled himself on top of the podium. Not exactly what Metatron had in mind but it would do. The robot leaned his own body on the couch, propping himself up with one hand. "Alright darlings, roll the cameras!"

"Welcome beauties… and gentlebeauties! It is I, everyone's favorite metallic marvel Mettaton, bringing you the underground latest breathtaking news."

"AND I AM PAPYRUS. I AM HERE TO GIVE YOUR BREATH BACK AFTER METTATON TAKES IT, AND ALSO BE SUPER COOL! NYEH HEH HEH!"

"This time, we have a very important matter to attend to! We've received numerous reports of missing monsters!" He paused for emphasis. "Nuh-uh-uh! Don't you reach for that controler! This issue is of critical importance! Who knows what could happen to you if you're not informed? Oh the horrors! Now, now, onto our information. It seems that the underground is short our very own royal scientist! How ghastly."  
"AND MY BROTHER! HE'S REALLY IMPORTANT TOO!"

"Of course! Who knows who will be struck next! The good doctor was last seen heading towards the CORE, by none other than me of course. I'm sure all of you are acquainted with the image of our royal scientist, but just for those poor poor uninitiated I'll remind you: She's a yellow lizard… or maybe a dinosaur, who's always wearing a white lab coat, or maybe something dorky. If you see any yellow scaled monsters broadcasting their support of strange anime characters please report directly to me by calling the hotline depicted here!" The robot arched a hand toward the green screen.

"YOU SHOULD ALSO CALL US IF YOU SEE A BIG SKELETON WEARING BLUE AND BEING A COMPLETE DORK… IN A COOL WAY OF COURSE. HE USUALLY IS AT GRILLBY'S, AND HE USUALLY LEAVES SOCKS EVERYWHERE. ME AND THE PET ROCK WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE HIM. HE WAS… LAST SEEN... " The skeleton briefly glanced back at the robot, who gave him a thumbs up. "HE WAS LAST SEEN GOING TO THE BASEMENT TO MESS WITH HIS CRAZY METAL TOY!"

The robot paused for a moment, despite the fact that the boy was looking back at him. "Thank you very much for tuning in today's special broadcasting!"  
"IT WAS VERY SPECIAL, AND MOST DEFINITELY CASTED BROADLY!"

"Until next time darlings!"

"SAME TIME! SAME CHANNEL! SAME PAPYRUS! NYEH-HEH-HEH!" The skeleton waved goodbye as the camera team caught onto their que.

After Papyrus had successfully back-flipped off the pedestal Mettaton began to pack. They couldn't of actually done it? Could they? It was ridiculous. Granted Alphys was a talented scientist but regardless… there was no way she'd be able to take her fantasy that far, not when she was slow moving with his body. "WELL… NOW WHAT?"  
"Oh pardon me, darling, I was just thinking something over…"  
"YOU WERE THINKING? THAT'S AMAZING! DID YOU COME UP WITH A NEW LEAD?"

The robot wasn't exactly sure how to take the comment, but his loyal enthusiasm was certainly appealing.

"Why of course I did. I think we're going to have to make a trip out to the CORE today!"  
"THE CORE, I'VE NEVER GOTTEN TO GO THERE!" The skeleton climbed atop the robot. "GO NOW, MAGICAL METTATON! WE MUST CONTINUE OUR SEARCH FOR THE MISSING MONSTERS! TOO THE CORE, AND BEYOND! NYEH HEH HEH!"


	18. Chapter 17 - Ex Libris

Sans had already arranged all the parts on the floor, and by arranged, Alphys meant dumped out her whole mechanical box on the ground. He was leaning over the blueprints, trying to find a way to get a foothold when working with the unfinished feature of the machine. The doctor had merely been assigned to watch and give occasional input.

" **okay, so obviously the traction from the time-portal-thing was designed to take the machine with it. It's not nearly strong enough to do that yet. we also need to figure out how to control where exactly we're heading.** "

"S-So you said w-we've g-got to somehow harness… s-some type of magical energy...?"

" **oh yeah, we've got to make the 'portal' stronger, and maybe more precise… somehow…** "

"L-Last time we were just using pure energy from the core. M-Maybe w-we can modify it?"  
" **one way to make magical energy stronger is to focus it, but it's clearly already been done when operating the machine.** "

"Is there someway to change the structure of the energy? We already have different types of magic, we just don't know exactly what makes some people channel their power into fire magic, and some into say… creating weapons."

" **usually that depends on the host and how they use their power…** " Alphys blinked at him. " **the user, i mean.** "

"S-So you think the m-main problem here is that we also need to use the machine to m-modify the type of magic?"

Sans took a moment to arrange a few parts next to each other. " **there's space for it in that thing, or i think there is. all we gotta do simulate that for our own benefits. we can certainly at least make it stronger with that.** "

"So how do monsters change magic in that way?" Sans flipped the page of the report he'd found.

" **think it's something bout the chemical structure, we should hit the books and see if we can find anything. nobody's gonna use the library in wartime anyway.** "

The two invited themselves into the building, which despite the jump in time still had the same incorrect sign.

" **alright, time for some super exciting… reading.** " Sans chuckled. " **it's either we read, or we're stuck in a parallel universe forever.** " That was certainly one way to describe it. " **well that or get lucky. so, let's get to work, why don't we?** " The doctor nodded, not bothering to question Sans' aversion to reading since he was probably just tired of it, and began skimming the books. They were loosely organized by subject, but it still was a bit of a mess to navigate. She eventually found a few that might work out, though there were moreso general topics. The doctor placed them on the single table and the both of them cracked one open.

After going through a few various sources the doctor informed. "It says here that: Magic is an ability that is present in all monsters, to varying degrees. According to several studies the most common influencers of magical ability are: chemical composition and emotional tendencies. Most monsters are able to draw on their magic by channelling some emotional force, in some rare situations monsters can also use the emotional status of the monster that will be affected to influence their magic." Alphys looked up from the book briefly.

" **and**?"

"The other factor influencing magic is genetic inheritance, or chemical composition. Certain monsters are just most adept at magic than others. Some may be able to take advantage of magic to become fearsome fighters, while others may only use it for convenience or entertainment, for example someone could create a cute scarf that patterns and colors. Due to the monster and human war the majority of monsters are rather proficient in their use of magic. The status of boss monster is attainted by monsters that have inherited enough energy for their souls to persist after death, if only briefly. Perhaps one day there will be a monster strong enough for us to harness their power after turning to dust, but alas, that would take far too many years, and we can only support so many under this mountain."

The skeleton was already jumping to conclusions and ruling out possibilities.

" **we have a general idea about chemical composition, but that in itself already tied into magic to some extent… we could take advantage of some of it but it might be necessary to try to encapsulate the emotional side of the spectrum.** "

"Y-Yeah I guess but… th-the only way we even have a chance at harvesting emotion is to take it directly from the soul, and m-monster's souls can't persist after death."

" **well i imagine it would be harvested from one of the souls asgore kept handy before the war. from there… the emotional energy was probably planned to be studied and maybe even replicated. if we combine that with a few chemicals with it we could probably amplify the energy enough, but when it comes to controlling where we go, i'm not sure**."  
"W-Well it's some sort of lead, we've got to do something

" **but we'd need a human soul to actually experiment**."

"Y-Yeah… I guess we do…" The two stared at each other, keeping the silence.

" **they're at war alphys, they've got plenty, and we've got places to be.** "

"I-I k-know but…"  
" **dontcha worry, i'm sure no one will mind. Heck, if asgore is a god like they say, we can probably find a work around too**."

"Y-Yeah… I suppose…" Alphys took one moment more before coming to acceptance. "A-And we've got someone to save after all! If there has to be a war, or even if we use other means, it would be better to make sure the souls are used to help someone, right?"

"now we're talking." Sans chuckled. " **hate to bother the old man, but looks like we're paying the king another visit.** "  
"I j-just hope the royal guard won't uh… annihilate us for taking up their time.."  
" **who's to say we need the royal guard, i'm sure we'll be fine.** " Sans threw himself on his feet, shrugged again, and rotated towards the door on one foot. "W-Wait a second! Sans, don't say that! We've gotta be more cautious than- than…" The skeleton audibly chuckled from outside the library, it was already plenty clear he didn't plan on giving up on his antics.


	19. Chapter 18 - Ab Imo Pectore

"Th-this is still is terrible idea." Alphys was trying to expand her dimensional box to fit one of the soul containers Asgore had left at the castle's courtyard.

" **you're just apprehensive, 'sides, we've got this. no problemo.** " San made an 'okay' symbol with his left hand. " **so ya done yet**?"

"This'll probably work." Alphys wasn't too awfully happy about the appearance of the redesigned box, but practicality was more important for now. She managed to get the container safely into the pocket dimension.

" **great, then let's get on with the plan.** "

Though it was far too loose of an idea to be a plan. Eventually the two passed onto the surface, this time only taking a moment to breathe and take in the atmosphere. The two descended the slope into the woodlands, following the forested path. Apparently Undyne's earlier excited escort mission had been much more impactful than previously thought. The remnants of her romp through the forest where still visible on the ground.

"Who's there!" The two monsters stopped dead in their tracks. "I said who's there!" The gruff voice seemed to be coming from above them. "If you're there, you better say something. Don't you think about moving if ya don't wanna fight." A little line of smoke was coming from one of the upper branches of the trees.

" **oh, heya.** " Sans tilted his head up to the tree.

"Oh, it's _you_ again." A rope lowered from the top of the oak tree, a slender black and white dog was tied to the pulley system. He lowered himself to the ground. Slowly. Very Slowly.

" **sup, doggo, ya still doing sentry duty?** "

"Don't rub it in pipsqueak." The dog adjusted his cigar and attempted to lean closer to the pair, batting both eyes at them. "Why are you here! We have to keep security tight! Tell me!"

" **i'm escorting alphys to asgore, she's discussing machinery for the war.** "

"Right. I need to verify your identity. Move." Alphys awkwardly waved a hand in the air. Sans followed suit. "Good enough, be careful." The dog briefly removed his half smoked dog treated and start clawing notes into it. "What are ya doing batting your eyes at me? Move along."

Alphys did her best to remember the layout of the human city, she was pretty confident she got lost a few times. All the streets looked way too samey and there wasn't a soul standing in the same place as the day before, like in the underground. Each street seemed to be in opposition with the previous, either silent or bustling. Eventually the found the one-story building the king had situated himself in. Sans felt the need to invite them in without knocking.

"ASGORE! COME ON!" A familiar booming voice complained. "You know full well I'm one of the best fighters out there! Why can't I have a human soul! We have to win this war don't we?"

"Undyne, please calm down."

"YOU'VE LET PLENTY OF OTHER MONSTERS TAKE SOME THOUGH! WHY NOT ME!"

"Undyne…"

"COME ON! WHY NOT? YOU KNOW FULL WELL THAT-"

" **heya. am i interrupting something?** "

"Sans!" Undyne narrowed her visible eye. "What do you think you're doing here!"

" **alphys has something important to discuss.** "

"What do you mean something impor-" Undyne quickly found herself switching her tone of voice. "O-Oh! Hi there-" She seemed to unconsciously mimic the doctor's awkward laugh. "-I uh, didn't notice you there. Was kinda caught in the heat of moment… ya' know? A-Anyway, I was just wrapping this up so, I'll… I'll let you get to your meeting!" Undyne attempted to not-so-subtly slip out of the building.

"I apologize." The king tilted his head downward, it wasn't even a fraction of a bow, but still managed to feel overly formal. "It looks like I have caused you a lot of trouble, have I?"

"O-Oh! Of c-course not! It's no big deal."

"That is good to hear. I do not remember scheduling for the both of you… but I am sure it is very important. I can get another chair, and we can all discuss over a cup of tea. Does that sound good?"

Asgore got everything in place once they had agreed. "This tea is one of the flavors that humans have made, they are supposed to used plants that are not native to the underground to create it." Asgore placed the cup on the tray in front of the two. "I do suppose we are getting off topic. Why have the two of you arranged this meeting?" Sans glanced over briefly to Alphys, who was lightly tapping her foot against the leg of the chair. It was probably best not to dance around the issue.

" **we need a human soul, ya know, for research purposes**."

"Oh my!" Asgore wore one of his trademark goofy expressions. "Is that so?"

"' **fraid it's true. sorry if it's a bit of a problem.** "

"Oh no, it is nothing to be concerned about. I can easily supply the both of you, besides it would be far better if they were used for scientific breakthrough instead of our war." The king gestured to Alphys. "I do trust you brought a container with you?"  
"O-Oh! R-Right now?"

"Yes, right now would be nice. I intend to give you one of my souls, if that is alright."

"Wha… e-excuse me?" Both Alphys and Sans snapped into their favored posture of surprise, prompting a faint laugh from the king.

"I would like to give you one of the human souls I have absorbed."

"B-But, d-don't you have the war to worry about? C-Can you even do that!"

"Now, now, there is no reason to be flustered. It is within my abilities, and the war effort will be just fine."

" **really? aren't the seven human souls integral to your whole, 'god powers' shtick?** "

"I suppose so however… I am plenty powerful with only six. I will be fine. If anything this only makes things easier."

"E-Easier?"  
"Yes, I believe so, I am sure at least one of the human souls I have absorbed would rather not live on like this, if you can call it that."

"B-But your ma-magestity, y-you surely don't have to-"

"Alphys." The king placed his cup down. "Do you know what it is like to share a body with multiple souls?" Silence took hold of the little room, Asgore's face slowly molded as it progressed, he eventually took to continuing. "Once a monster absorbs a human soul they share both body and mind. Their desires, their emotions, their thoughts, they all mingle. I myself already did not know what I wanted… now I am torn further by what my mind hears. I can not tell which convictions are my own some days. Each being seems to want something different, and each second I delay more people are hurt… I would like to resolve this war quickly and try not to harm anyone further, however it seems that I do not have the strength in me to take full advantage of my powers. So would you please accept my offer. It will benefit both parties."

Alphys removed the container from her dimensional box, and set it on the table, her limbs delivering the action slowly. "Now, now, there is no need to feel guilty. I really must thank you."

" **it's no big deal flufflybuns, if it benefits everyone then we should just hurry up and be done here, isn't that right**?"  
"Yes, very well then, I will now provide you." The king cupped both hands just under his armor's breastplate. He was silent for a good few seconds, his breathing becoming deeper. Eventually he managed to slowly pull a green soul from his own body. Though the two of them could only see it for a brief moment, before Asgore quickly enclosed it in the vial, it had lit the whole room a vibrant green and pulsated with luminosity.

The king nodded to the container, one hand at his chest. His face had somehow grown whiter. "A-Are you okay? Do you need anything? Y-You d-didn't put yourself in d-danger, did you?"

"Doctor Alphys if you would please calm down. I will be just fine; it was merely a wave of fatigue, nothing more." The doctor nodded as she slid the soul back into her dimensional box. She attempted to be gentle with it, but given the destination it didn't really matter.

"T-Thank you your majesty!"

" **yeah, thanks a bunch.** "

Alphys found it appropriate for a small bow, Sans didn't seem to share her sentiments.

"I do wish you well with your re-"

"ASGORE!" Everyone jumped as Undyne caused every piece of furniture to rock in the building. "IT'S… IT'S DOGGO! THE HUMANS- OR MAYBE THE MONSTERS-" The king quickly rose.

"Undyne, calm down, you are going to send the whole city into a panic."  
"CALM DOWN? HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO CALM DOWN, THIS IS ABSOLUTE- HOW COULD- WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON THOSE PUNKS THEY'RE GOING TO REGRET THE DAYS THEY WHERE BORN!"


	20. Chapter 19 - Sero Venientibus Ossa

Undyne drove her fist into the bark of a tree the four of them were standing in front of. She clawed into the trunk while muttering under her breath.

"Undyne. I understand that-"

"Asgore!" The king flinched at her response. "Th-There'll be time for sentiment later. We have to figure out what happened here before anyone else is… before anyone else is killed." She gave a moment before including; "When we do find them I'll make sure they get what's coming to them for taking out one of _my_ sentries!"

Alphys and Sans has backed a few feet away, moreso shocked than anything. Though they were both experiencing a peculiar alienation from these events. They were wise to the fact the instant they got home Doggo would be the same as usual barking at his post, completely unaware. That was if their objective was meant, but both had recently built a confidence. This flash of thought was brief, and both felt quite guilty for this mindset.

Asgore spoke again, his voice seemed a tone deeper and his breathing more audible, it might of been like this for a while, but Alphys had only now noticed. "It is not that complicated, I will just call another member of the canine unit. They will be able to track the scent left behind." Asgore turned briefly to the pair. "I really do hate to tie you both up in this, but could you please escort-"

" **leave it to me.** " Sans shrugged " **it'll only take a second. just tell me where.** "

Sans quickly brought back another watchmen. This dog's neck had nearly shrunk into his body. The dog sat down and attentively listened to Asgore before taking to the scent.

"Thank you." The king turned to address the three monster that where left. "We will act quickly to make sure everyone is safe. Please, the all of you return to your duties."

"Asgore! You really think you can just exclude-"

" **let's go**." Sans whispered under the shouting. " **we've got places to be.** "

"I-I know b-but maybe..."

" **you said it earlier, we shouldn't try to interfere with the timeline, didn't you? come on.** " Alphys wasn't sure if that was exactly what she had said, and she was starting to cultivate a distaste for the rule, but she decided to comply.

* * *

" **welp, chin up, doctor.** " Sans chuckled. " **you better start a soulful examination. i expect you to have some spirit, i doubt many scientist get to examine a human soul freely.** "

"S-Sans! Now really isn't the time!"

" **no need to be on edge. You'll have time to get upset when you're flunking your work from working yourself up so much.** "

"Alright! I g-get it."

" **good then. let's crack this thing open then and harvest what we can get.** "

The soul was placed on the cool colored carpeting, still faintly glowing. The doctor started tinkering with her phone, trying to find a way to safely observe the soul without absorbing it. Sans hunched back on his hands and continued to contribute only the occasional comment. Alphys narrated her actions to him as she worked.

"I'm going to withdraw a tiny sample with the syringe, so it can be studied safely. I th-think it will hold together. H-Human souls are s-supposed to be somewhat resilient." Sans nodded briefly, watching the doctor do exactly as she said. She kept it in the vial and gently tapped it. "A-Alright… give me a moment." The doctor withdrew into the kitchen and set to whatever method she would use for analysis. She seemed to have yet another device on her phone, though the skeleton greatly doubted it was designed for the purpose for which she was using it for.

The skeleton decided to descend into the basement, taking a short cut yet again.

" **heya.** " Sans waved to himself, who had lazily slumped against the machine he was repairing.

" **how's it been? ya enjoy the surface, kiddo**." The skeleton wasn't completely satisfied with the nickname he'd given himself, but didn't bother to attempt to rid of it.

" **it was something alright, i dunno my judgment may of been clouded.** "

" **well we can fix that with some time in the sun.** "

" **though it might've been something else, we might have to look past the surface level.** "

The current timeline's skeleton swung to his feet. " **you've gotta point there.** " He winked. " **anyway, i've done what i can with what ya told me. you enjoy your mess now, alright?"**

" **wait a sec- it's about** _ **your**_ **machine.** "

" **ya can keep it, wasn't ever gonna get anything done anyway**." The older of the two responded, rather quickly.

" **that's what's bothering me. why are you just givin' the machine up like this, you remember what it entails right? i mean sure, maybe ya gave in in the past but now that you know it can function-** "

The decidedly more slacker-like of the two chuckled. " **welp, i dunno what to tell ya buddo, there's no reason to stress over something temporary.** "

" **temporary**?" Sans gave himself a moment to figure out how to best phrase his thoughts. " **if it's so 'temporary' then what's the point in giving it to me?** "

" **well that's… that's a mess of an explanation. you'll get to it eventually.** "

" **but-** "

" **come on, don't look a gift horse in the mouth. 'sides i've already went out of my way to do this for you.** "

The younger skeleton seemed rather hesitant. " **...we still have our machine at home, we can just use that one.** "

" **look kiddo, if you're going to be so adamant about it you can send yours over.** "

" **the one that hardly worked**?"

" **didn't you just argue that you could use yours? now you're saying it hardly works.** " The skeleton had no response to this, maybe he could have conjured one if he was any more invested but in truth he didn't feel up to fighting any harder on the matter. " **with that, settled, there's one last thing i'm gonna help the two of you with. let's go grab alphys and get this done.** "

" **S-Sans! Where were you! I j-just… you should've seen…** " Alphys seemed to have separated something from the human soul. " **I analyzed the sample I withdrew f-from the soul and figured out the composition of th-the emotional attributes, th-then I used the e-extractor i um... in-inherited from one of the p-previous royal scientists. it's really low quality due to being shrunk in size and the fact that it's an early and near ineffective model, but I tried inputting-** " The older Sans cut off her babbling.

" **so, you've got what you need now, right**?"

"Sans! Th-this is a significant scientific experiment! Do you have any idea h-how few monsters get sanction to experiment on the human souls!"

" **save your nerding out for something of 'real importance'.** "

"B-But!"

" **ya can tell me the details when we get back alph. apparently there's something my older self would like to tell show us**."

Alphys' face sunk in response to this. "A-Alright… I guess that works. Let's go then."


	21. Chapter 20 - Scientia Vincere Tenebras

Sans was quickly working through a huge compartment of wires that he had suddenly brought into the laboratory. He was hooking them up to the usual monitor, overriding the sentry cameras as he gave the two newcomers some background. This was mostly for Alphys' sake, though his younger self could use a reminder.

" **before the machine was to be used, the team of scientist working on it wanted to be able to analyze timelines for safe traveling. in order to do that though they had to develop a way to gather the information. gaster split his team and, slowly but surely, they figured out how. tibia honest-** " Apparently that pun was mandatory. " **-i have no idea how it works but they tore out the floor of the lab and developed a system. all they had to do after it was finished is rig it up to the monitor and-** " Sans' eye lit up briefly and the screen flashed on. " **i figured this out after a few years; when alphys was searching every corner of her lab for me, she unearthed this, and everything in my head clicked. it need a bit of upkeep, but it was basic enough for the two of us. so now-** "

" **this is-** " The younger Sans might as well of been gaping at the monitor, he instinctively started cycling through the menus using the buttons that were usually used to manage to cameras. "Y-You can read this?" Alphys realized she really shouldn't be surprised at this rate.

" **we should be able to find our timeline like this. chemical formulas are listed with the data. Getting exactly where we need to will sorta be like following a recipe.** "

"I-It's that easy?"

" **heh, it's never that easy**." The current timeline's Sans sat atop the monitor. " **the formulas should have some... emotional elements included. it might be hard to figure out what the symbols refer to.** " He leaped off from atop the metal. " **i'll show ya how to best locate your timeline.** "

Both of the skeletons began to shift through the settings. Alphys sat back as she watched the monitor flash. Sans answered several survey questions from himself, some of them the doctor could swear were unrelated.

" **there we go. it should be one of these… let me write down what you need to get there.** "

Alphys pocketed the scrap of paper, Sans was already warping around the lab and grabbing the vials of solution after solution necessary for the formula. He already knew the lab surprisingly well, though at this point Alphys was pretty sure he had knowledge of it before they'd started working together.

" **i'll go rig the machine up to the core. come over when you've got everything prepared.** "

The dimmed lights of the CORE had since switched themselves as close to off as they could. The Sans that had went ahead had the machine in front of him, but he had even bothered to start the process of activating it. He waved the rest of the two over. " **so about the 'plans'…** " He nonchalantly shook his head. " **no go** "

"Wh-what do you mean?" Alphys' left hand was fidgeting against the iron railing.

" **it looks like the core can't be drawn from. it's exporting all of its stored energy for… something or other; my guess, something going on on the surface.** "

"Th-the surface?" Alphys glanced over to Sans beside her.

" **welp, this'll be something.** " Sans shifted his head towards himself. " **we'll probably need some kinda authority this time around, seeing as i know little to nothing. can you call papyrus over?"**

" **papyrus**?"Sans withdrew his phone from his front pocket and somewhat laggardly flipped it open.

" **yeah, papyrus is probably already out there running his legs off, and escort mission won't hurt 'em.** "

Eventually there was a loud stomping of boots on the metal they all stood on. Papyrus was over-animatedly bolting straight towards the group. He slid to a halt dramatically, making a vaguely ninja-esque pose.

"SANS, LESSER-SANS, DOCTOR ALPHYS! I COME AT YOUR BECK AND CALL, LITERALLY… OR 50% LITERALLY THAT IS. NYEH HEH HEH! THE GREAT PAPYURS, THE ROYAL GUARDSMEN, IS HERE AND READY TO PERFORM ROYAL GUARDING, OR WHAT NOT!" Papyrus launched himself upright again. "WHAT EXACTLY DID YOU WANT SANS?"

" **can you bring lesser-me and alphys to someone with the authority to re-light this place.** "

"RELIGHT?" He took a moment to actually take notice of the setting. "OH! OF COURSE! THAT WILL BE AN EASY JOB FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS! I CAN RUN THE ENTIRE UNDERGROUND AT LIGHTSPEED IF I TRY HARD ENOUGH!"

" **bro, you're an escort, give those two some time to ketchup at least.** "

"OH RIGHT! OF COURSE!" Papyrus swung around and stuck a hand to his chest.

"LISTEN DOCTOR ALPHYS, AND LESSER-SANS OF COURSE, I THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL BE YOUR GRAND ES-"

" **yeah, we've been here the whole time.** "

"SILENCE SANS, YOU'RE RUINING MY EVER IMPORTANT MONOLOGUE. NOW WHERE WAS I…. OH RIGHT."

"I THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL YOUR GRAND ESCORT, THROUGH THE LAND OF HUMANS. THEN THE CORE WILL BE REACTIVATED AND THEN…. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEN, BUT IT'S SURELY VERY IMPORTANT. I WILL NOW COMMENCE VERY SERIOUS ROYAL GUARD-ING IN EVERY SENSE OF THE TERM."

"T-Thank you?"

"NO NEED FOR THANKS DOCTOR! NOW, FOLLOW ME. ONE STRIDE AT A TIME. PUT SOME PEP IN IT!"


	22. Chapter 21 - A Posse Ad Esse

"GET TO IT YOU TWO! GET TO USING THAT ENERGY!" Papyrus was yelling back to the pair, standing atop a felled tree in the woodlands. "I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT!" By the time Alphys reached him she was almost completely out of breath.

"I… would've… brought some water… or something… if I'd know I was doing this… today."

"OH COME ON DOCTOR! YOU'RE BODY ISN'T

UST FOR STORING YOUR BRAIN. YOU CAN DO IT! EXERCISE IS A NATURAL MEDICINE AFTER ALL, IT'S NEVER HURT ME!"

Sans had used his usual tactics.

" **giving up already?"**

"O-Of course not! I just… need a minute."  
" **riiiiight."**

"COME ON DOCTOR! WE'VE GOT TO LIGHT UP THE CORE OF THE PROBLEM, NYEH HEH HEH!"

The city was still silent. It was somehow even more so than during the last visit. Papyrus gleefully led them through, unable to pick up on the atmosphere. "THE OTHER DOCTOR ALPHYS' BUILDING IS ON THE STREET NEXT TO ASGORE'S. SHE HARDLY USES IT THOUGH. I THINK SHE WANTS TO STAY IN NEW HOME FOR SOME REASON. SHE'LL BE IN IT TODAY THOUGH."

" **ya know what's going on yet, paps?"**

"WELL… I DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING YET BUT THE ROYAL GUARD FOUND A GROUP OF HUMANS TRYING TO CUT OFF THE SUPPLY LINES. ASGORE CAME TO THEM HIMSELF. APPARENTLY-"

The air was quickly pierced by a distant popping sound, Papyrus' stride freezed in place. In unspoken agreement everyone slowly turned their view to the horizon from which it sounded. It was wispy, but there was a small trickle of smoke creeping into the clouds from the far exit of the city. Papyrus whispered a quiet 'nyeh' in delayed reaction.

"W-WE BETTER HURRY, I SUPPOSE… NYEH… HEH… HEH… ANYWAY, LET'S GET MOVING W-WHY DON'T WE. FOLLOW AFTER ME!" Papyrus tapped his foot on the ground. "C-COME ON NOW YOU TWO, W-WE SHOULD GET MOVING."

"Y-Yeah m-my study isn't that far, r-right…?"

The skeleton nodded, briskly leading the pair through a back alley, into the street. He sharply swung into the closest building.

"DOCTOR ALPHYS! DOCTOR ALPHYS WANTS TO SEE YOU." Papyrus had arched his head

near-completely upwards. "IT'S VERY IMPORTANT. YOU HAVE A PAPYRUS GUARANTEE."

"H-Hold on a second!" The doctor's voice was muffled but managed to be loud enough to reach downstairs.

The room they had arrived in appeared to have been some sort of restaurant; it was left mainly unaltered since Alphys had came to inhabit it, perhaps since she had so rarely visiting. Though, if Alphys could venture a guess about herself she'd probably stored a few nerdy nicknacks upstairs. Papyrus and Sans had already opted to sit on the tables parallel from each other. The doctor slid into one of the boothes as she waited for her older self to come down. She took far longer than a second.

"S-Sorry, s-sorry! I h-had to take care of something! Th-There was this one sce- I mean… this one…. one um... sciencing I really needed to finish… y-yeah…"

"SCIENCING, YOU SAYING? HOW PECULIAR. I'VE NEVER HEARD THAT WORD USED BEFORE… WOWIE! IT MUST BE EXCLUSIVE TO THE MOST ROYAL OF SCIENTIST. I'LL BE SURE TO TAKE MENTAL NOTE! MY BRAIN IS VERY GOOD AT WRITING THOSE."

Alphys ignored the anatomical inconsistency and proceeded to the questioning of herself. "U-Um… can we get the CORE re-activated? J-Just for a few minutes? I m-mean, I k-know your devices must use a lot of energy but, w-we'd um… really appreciate it. I k-know it's a lot to ask and-"

Sans raised his hand in signal.

" **it's fairly important. it'll be the last thing ya ever need to do for us.** "

"H-Huh… Oh! Of course! W-We can… we can… eh… eh heh heh heh…"

"WHAT IS IT DOCTOR? HAVE YOU COME DOWN WITH SOME STRANGE ILLNESS? DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE? YOU CAN ALWAYS TELL ME WHAT'S WRONG." Papyrus, apparently wasn't acquainted with the doctor's trademarked awkward laughter.

"I um… I might've just… I may of… I-may-of-accidentally-sort-of-maybe-let-asgore-have-control-of-the-core-because-he-wanted-to-

balance-the-use-of-energy-between-here-and-the-underground-which-would-may-or-may-not-

require-constantly-changing-the-settings-for-optimal-use?"

" **oh.** "

"OH!"

"O-Oh…"

"Yeah um… I'm really sorry…"

" **calm down alph, we just need to go see asgore is all. it's no big deal.** "

"Y-Yeah about that…" This Alphys was nervously scratching at the corner of her laptop, she'd already broken eye-contact several times.

"He's-" The doctor stretched the last syllable. "-kind-of-in-the-middle-of-a-really-um-d-difficult-battle-right-now."

" **so that's what's going on. how bad is it?** " The second Sans had appeared from behind the pair. He had pocketed his hands in his coat, his tone was departed from the usually apathy. He hadn't displayed in interest in tagging along beforehand. Nobody was too surprised this time though, they were all adjusted to sudden appearances from any form of Sans.

"I-It's um… n-not going well… even with the h-human souls… A-Asogre isn't…"  
The older Sans nodded. " **and the monster forces?** "

"W-With the current s-situation… I-I've heard about… setbacks from the m-monsters I'm keeping in contact with…" The skeleton started making for the door.

" **we need to get to asgore,** _ **quickly.**_ "

" **how come?** "

" **you'll understand later. do you have the energy to bring multiple people with you, ya know, with our 'shortcuts'?** "

" **if ya need me to.** "

"W-Wait! We're j-just running straight into a warzone for… for reasons we'll understand later! Sans, this can't be a good idea! C-Can't we just wait out the battle?"

" **if you want to get back… then you'd better not take your chances.** "

"HUH.. SANS… I DON'T THINK I UNDERSTAND BUT… ALRIGHT! IF YOU THINK SOMETHING IS IMPORTANT FOR ONCE IT MUST BE IMPORTANT!"

" **sure, i'm willing to put some stock in myself. you haven't stabbed me in the back yet anyway. 'sides we really should get moving, hate to keep papyrus waitin'."**

"I-I… I mean um… a-alright. I g-guess we c-can risk it. Besides, we can just w-warp out, as long as we have the energy."

"OF COURSE! IT SEEMS LIKE THAT'S ALL SANS IS USEFUL FOR NOWADAYS… ANYWAY, I THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL SURELY LEAD US TO SAFE RECOVERY OF THE ABILITY TO LIGHT UP THE CORE! IT'S NO PROBLEM, AFTER ALL I'M VERY GREAT! NOW, DOCTOR ALPHYS!"

"Y-Yes?"

"NO, NO, THE OLDER ONE. NOT THAT THAT'S BAD OF COURSE."

"O-Oh! W-What do you need!"

"INFORM THE ROYAL GUARD THAT WE ARE GOING TO ARRIVE, AND KEEP US INFORMED PLEASE! SANS, EITHER OF YOU, GET READY TO MOVE OUT!"


	23. Chapter 22 - Igne Natura Renovatur Integ

Those unadjusted to teleportation took a few moments to adapt to the change in setting. They seemed to be just near the outskirts of whatever mess the king had wrapped himself into. The small pillar of smoke from earlier had expanded, covering the area they were standing in lightly though not yet to a point where it would be potentially harmful. Despite this Papyrus had already taken to cheerfully ridding of it, summoning a bone which he twirled like a baton. He seemed to hope it would act like a fan and clear the area.

"A-Alright… c-can you hear me?" The older Alphys, whose voice was discernible due to sounding a tad more stressed than the other's. She seemed to be speaking to them from elsewhere.

"DOCTOR! IS THIS ONE OF THE INCREDIBLE WAR MACHINES YOU'VE DEVELOPED?"

"W-Well, I wouldn't c-call it incredible, I'm j-just broadcasting soundwaves magically to the all of you. They should be coming from all of your phones… I-I'm kinda surprised I've k-kept my own phone for so long… n-not so much surprised about you though Sans."

" **heh, ya know me too well. anyway, keep us updated alph.** "

"D-Didn't I j-just agree to that before you left?"

"WHERE YOU EVEN PAYING ATTENTION SANS?"

"A-Anyway, y-you're all j-just outside the monster l-lines. A-Asgore should be somewhere… I-I'll try to g-get in touch now…" Alphys' voice faded out.

"ALRIGHT!" Papyrus was more than eager to spin in front of everyone and take position as leader, ignoring the fact that he had no idea what he was doing. "ACCORDING TO THE GREAT PAPYRUS' MAGICAL EYE FOR DETAIL, WE'RE AT THE EDGE OF THE FOREST. SINCE MONSTERS HAVE THE CITY RIGHT NOW, IT'S PROBABLY SAFE TO GUESS THAT THE MONSTERS ARE SOMEWHERE IN THE CITY."

"W-Wait a s-second! Wouldn't we ideally be transported b-behind ally f-formation? S-So shouldn't they b-be in the forest?"

"SANS! YOU MUST EXPLAIN THIS DILEMMA!" Papyrus didn't actually know whom exactly he was addressing. "WHO'S CORRECT ABOUT OUR LOCATION? ME, OR THE DOCTOR?"

The already convenient intercom Alphys decided to provide the answer for them.

"Th-The monster forces have situated themselves in the forest. A group of h-humans were trying to cut off the supply line. They called for reinforcements after being found. Apperantly it's a bigger operation than we thought. Th-they're apparently... they've um… what was it? O-oh gosh! I… the forest is..."

The smoke was enough to finish her sentence.

The younger Sans piped up. " **and asgore?** "

"H-He's um… under a f-fair bit of p-pressure."

"CLEARLY WITH THE AID OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS AND HIS COMPANY ALL PRESSURE WILL BE DEPRESSURIZE!. ALL WE NEED TO DO IS… IS…"

" **we're letting these two use the core, remember bro?"**

"OF COURSE I DO SANS! THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN'T FORGET ANYTHING OF SUCH GRAVE IMPORTANCE. I JUST WANTED TO BE A HERO HERE TOO! NYEH-HEH-HEH! NOW JUST FOLLOW ME LEA!, WE HAVE A FOREST FIRE TO JUMP HEAD FIRST INTO!"

Papyrus had insisted on merrily leading the party through the woodlands, despite the ever growing smoke. The older Sans had explained to her that he didn't want to risk 'teleporting' them straight into a danger zone. She supposed he didn't know his surroundings too well. "DOCTOR ALPHYS! ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO FOLLOW? YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WITH LUNGS HERE… I THINK... IT COULD BE PROBLEMATIC."

"O-Oh! It's n-nothing to w-worry about! I c-can-"

"HOLD ON!" Papyrus eagerly removed his scarf in one motion. He knelt down and gently tied it around Alphys' neck, instructing her to pull it upward. "AS A ROYAL GUARDSMEN IN TRAINING I INSURED THAT MY SIGNATURE ATTIRE WOULD BE ABLE TO BREATHE FOR HIGH TENSION STEALTH MISSIONS! I WOULD NOT WANT TO LOSE ANY OF MY BREATH WHEN ON AN INTENSE MISSION. OF COURSE IN HINDSIGHT I SUPPOSE IT WAS A LITTLE POINTLESS FOR MYSELF... REGARDLESS, THE GREAT PAPYRUS THINKS OF EVERYTHING!" The skeleton happily swung back around, facing the forest again.

"ALRIGHTY THEN! LET'S JUST GO AHEAD AND-" Papyrus suddenly was fully upright from shock. He had sensed something right above his head. Slowly he turned his head back to the doctor, who pointed upwards. "NYEH!" Papyrus quickly sidestepped from his place, and a flaming branch finally fell to it's destination. "SANS! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!"

" **welp, i had to keep it in place first bro."**

"ARE YOU REALLY SO LAZY THAT YOU CAN'T TALK AND PERFORM MAGIC AT THE SAME TIME?"

" **shouldn't we hurry?** " The younger of the Sans-es finally decided to contribute to the conversation. " **if the fire's already spread here, who knows what kinda mess asgore is in. i don't know our restraints, but it has something to do with the situation doesn't it?** "

The older of the two casually nodded. " **yeah, guess so… let's try to find the main monster force. they've sure to have found somewhere safe, well probably. we should at least get moving before the fire goes ahead and engulfs this whole area.** "

Alphys nodded in response, though she didn't quite see an improvement in safety made by running straight into the heat of the problem.

Now that they seemed to have an ever so slightly better grasp on the urgency of the situation the group of monsters where far more prone to movement than conversation. Papyrus seemed more than content to leap forward dramatically, brandishing a bone like a sword, though he almost brushed up against sparks this way. It didn't take too awfully long before their high intensity jog through the woodlands became several degrees more dangerous. "ASGORE!? YOUR HIGHNESS!?" Papyrus had elected himself to shout out into the woodlands in attempt find the king. The skeleton reached a foot foward.

"W-Wait a minute… I hear something…" The doctor pushed in her glasses, assuming it would help her in someway.

Silver bolted straight towards the group, narrowly missing them and landing in the ground with a thud.

"Insufferable. Insufferable! INSUFFERABLE! I can't believe it! What are they think, the dummies!" A certain possessed mass of fluff was frantically levitating towards them, angrily shooting off magic at the nearby terrain. He failed to help the forest ecosystem in any way.

" **heya.** " The older Sans called out towards him. " **honestly, you could've picked a** _ **warmer**_ **welcome. you're putting people at risk here.** "

"You. You! YOU! You dare mock me at my lowest moment!? I've seen you around! You hardly do anything and-"

"A-Actually! W-W-We're kind of low on time at the moment." Alphys' voice was required to be high pitched as [possible in order to speak over the dummy. "W-We've gotta get to Asgore as soon as possible…"

"Asogre... Asogre…" The dumy seemed to actually be consider something. "Finally. Finally! FINALLY! Someone actually sees my potential!

" **excuse me?** "

"Shut up! I know exactly what I'm doing! This way. This way! THIS WAY! The king will finally see my brilliance! And then… and then…" The dummies rambling was lost as he retreated into the smoke. Alphys had to climb over tree roots to hurry after him.

"In here. In here! IN HERE!" The dummy frantically gestured from behind a gap between two flames, his form was beginning to become lost in the smoke.

"A-Are you crazy?"

"NO! You're crazy! This way already!" The phantom swerved further into the smoke.

"REALLY DOCTOR WHERE IS YOUR PAZAZZ! IT'S NOT THAT BAD! WHAT DO YOU THINK FIRE CAN DO TO YOU?"

"W-Well first of all-"

A flame lunged out at Alphys, who yelped. Papyrus and Sans forced a double fortified wall of bones spring from the ground to guard her. The doctor huffed as she frantically shook at her lab coat.

" **alphys, what happened!?** " The younger of the Sans had apparently let his guard down.

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT DOCTOR? DO WE NEED TO HEROICALLY WITHDRAW?"

"I-I'm alright. I'll be fine. It j-just got my coat is all. W-We have to hurry don't we?"  
" **somethin' like that.** "

"L-Let's go then."

"ALRIGHTY THEN, YOU HEARD THE DOCTOR." Papyrus pressed the palm of his two gloves together. "LET'S GET MOVING."

The dummy seemed to have angrily disappeared into the fire.

"S-Sorry! Sorry!" Alphys' voice sounded from the group's telephones. "A-Asgore k-knows you're c-coming now b-but… you'll have to come to him… he's going through… I-I'm sorry…"

Alphys shook herself back into focus, with the help of a reminder from her alternate self. "H-Hold on! P-Papyrus, t-try um…" Alphys' eyes bolted upward at the pillar that had spawn in their hesitation. "I-Is there anyway y-you can j-jump that… it might be better than having either of the S-San-es waste their energy now…"

"OH, OF COURSE I CAN DOCTOR. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE GREAT PAPYRUS." The skeleton had already caught onto her request and lifted her onto his back. He backed up a few paces and jumped forward narrowly skimming over the obstacle, which was far higher than he expected. He suddenly careened during the landing, attempting rolling onto the ground. The doctor grimaced as she was rolled onto the ground. Her arms gave way mid-action, causing her to find herself flat on her stomach.

"DOCTOR! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Papyrus had been quick to get on his feet. She lifted her head.

"Y-Yeah, I'm still…" The skeleton himself seemed to have slightly charred his clothes, the dummy had clearly chosen the worst possible route. She coughed briefly, but rose to her feet. "C-Can't Sans just… attempt to teleport us to Asgre.."

"TELEPORT? SANS CAN'T DO THAT, MUCH LESS ANYTHING COOL."

"B-But I thought-" Papyrus quickly pulled her to the side, the crackling of fire grew closer to her ears.

"WE'VE NO TIME FOR COMPLAINING, THOUGH COMPLIMENTS WOULD BE NICE. I'M SURE HE'LL EXPLAIN LATER, BUT BASICALLY IF THERE'S A GIANT WALL OF FLAME IN THE WAY HE CAN'T WALK STRAIGHT THROUGH IT." Alphys had trouble swallowing how casually he reacted, but his face gave his demeanor away well enough. She rose to the flames, and set to finding an easier way around, even if it took some backtracking. She _lived_ in Hotland. This couldn't be too bad. "H-How much further?"

"I'D SAY-"

There were several snapping noises from behind them. Alphys' vision was suddenly impaired by a mass of leaves. Branches poked into her skin, knocking the breath out of the doctor. The leaves were unlit for the time.

" **alphys!? papyrus!?** " The skeleton sounded distant over the crackle of fire. She attempted to reply but her lungs couldn't sound over the noise. The doctor scrambled trying to emerge from the foliage, only to invite the smoke closer. She felt heat press against her scales. She was suddenly jolted upward, a spike of pain from the branches and the heat of the tree came with the sensation. Sans forced her straight into the air with his magic and bolted her to his side, forcing her through fire and branches. She barely had time to adjust to her change in positioning and nearly fell over.

" **where's his papyrus?** "

"I d-dunno…. He was…. He was r-right there wh-when…. I…"

" **i… can't find anyone I can use my magic on…** "

"D-Did… did I?"

" **no… papyrus is tough. We don't even have lungs, he would've said somethin'...** "

"I s-should of n-noticed… it isn't that hard I… if I…"

" **we've got to keep going. we have something of a path now.** "

"W-What a-about Sans! I m-mean the o-other-"

" **he's...** " Sans glanced backwards. " **it's not important.** " Alphys caught the second of shock from the skeleton, but knew to waste less time. The fallen tree wasn't full lit yet, though that was changing quickly, and it qualified as some sort of path.

The doctor had nearly collapsed by the time they reached the human camp. The camp seemed to have been rid of foliage so it was mildly safe. The monsters should of been raiding this location, or planning on it. Asgore's silhouette seemed to be in the center of the circle. Being in the center of the forest, the whole area was clouded in smoke. The doctor found herself leaning against Sans as she tried to breath again. He chuckled, informing the doctor that she'd probably have trouble living this down.

"' **ey asgore!** " Sans' attempt at projecting his voice was pathetic. " **whatever you're supposed to be planning on doing, we need you to put it on hold for a moment.** " The king turned towards them, he decided to approach himself, which they appreciated.

"Doctor Alphys, Sans, what are you doing out here? You shouldn't of put yourselves at risk…"

" **sorry kingo, it's fairly important. we really need to be able to power up the core.** "

"Oh… I see…" The king handed over a small device to Sans, which he seemed to recognize. "I must apologize, you shouldn't have had to come out this far."

"W-What happened to the monsters you brought with you? Why are you the only one here?"

The king looked down at the doctor and shook his head. "They seemed to know about our approach, and suddenly set fire to the forest as we marched. I have no idea how they did so at such a speed… It has begun to die down now here, but I'm afraid that it may have spread naturally to the rest of the forest."

"T-That's not… s-some had to of... "

"That's true, some are resting here with me… but I fear…" Asgore inhaled. "I apologize, I might be here I while longer, I am going to try something."

Sans seemed to hesitate before speaking. " **can you wait a while longer? we need to get back to the core first.** "

"I…" The king's voice had lost a bit of it's rasp. "I suppose it doesn't matter. I shall show you both to where the humans stayed, we can catch our breath some and wait out the fire there."

* * *

Alphys found herself staring up at the ceiling of the CORE, which was finally lit. Sans had decided to rush the start-up of the device for whatever the reason was. She coughed on occasion, not that Papyrus' gift hadn't helped her. She had elected to leave the scarf with Asgore.

"Sans, do you think you and your brother made it out alright?"

" **i'd like to think so.** " Sans placed the vials back on the floor and reached for the switchboard. " **we can talk it over when we get back. i'd like sleep before anything else.** "

"I r-really hope so… m-maybe Sans just kind of… warped him out of there. He'd probably have a better reaction time than me." Alphys wasn't sure she like the prospect, the whole thing felt highly unlikely.

" **alright alph, this time, why dontcha just nosedive into the rift in time and space?** "

"H-Hey! There was no way I could've seen that coming!"

" **well get ready, i'm starting it now.** "

Alphys barely had any time to get on her feet before the room was filled with fog again. She caught Sans, with his hands behind his head, letting himself be pulled in between time and space. Alphys rolled her eyes and followed after him.


	24. Chapter 23 - Culpa

It seemed that the doctor was doomed to be hit with the strange time travel based jet-lag each time she was to go through the process of time travel. The doctor hoped she wouldn't have to do this again anytime soon. She was on her feet this time at the very least. Sans had one arm against the wall, pressing his outdated cellphone against his ears.

" **... papyrus, are ya sure?** " Sans was alerted to the doctor's presence via her small cough. He pocketed his phone a few seconds later.

"S-So, is he okay?"

" **I mean… he is.** " The skeleton sighed. " **alph, we're heading back to your lab**."

"H-Huh? Don't you want to head home first? I m-mean…"

" **wish i could.** "

The doctor blankly stared at him for a moment. "Y-You mean, a-after all that we're… we're still…"

" **heh, we're closer at the least. progress is progress, isn't it?** "

"S-Sans!"

" **What?** "

"Y-You can't j-just brush it off like that! I m-mean, w-who knows where, wh-what if…"

" **you gonna have the same reaction every time? we're gonna be in for it if you freak out every time we make a mistake.** "

"B-But… but what will Mettaton think, and A-Asgore. Oh, we're already taking f-forever as is. what if the king needed me to do something important? You're surely worried about P-Papyrus too, aren't you?"

" **well yeah but… as far as we know we can just jump back to the instant we travelled to.** "

"W-We've hardly figured out h-how to get to the r-right timeline, much less a specific moment in time."

" **alph, seriously, there's no point. we'll get back eventually, and we can sort out whatever apocalypse you've foreseen then."** The skeleton didn't wait for an answer, he started walking out of the CORE once more, forcing the doctor to keep after him.

The CORE had reverted back to being needlessly complex like beforehand; the doctor wasn't sure whether or not she was fond of this, but the familiarity was somewhat comforting. It took them forever to find a route back to the entrance. It was still curious that Sans refused to use his teleportation, granted he was probably still worn out but the doctor believed she would benefit from better knowing the specifics of his abilities. As they traveled back to her lab Alphys reserved an eye for any out of place image that might suggest the conflict here; of which, she was convinced, was a certainty.

Sans insisted on them showing themselves inside the lab. He flipped on the lights and slid over to the monitor. At the very least the doctor could assume that she wouldn't be having to deal with herself give the lack of any other monster in the room. She sat herself in her chair, perhaps out of habit, and let Sans attempt to find any mistakes in their navigation. The skeleton elected to speak to her from across the room.

" **i don't see a problem here. we followed his instructions to the letter, or i guess number."**

"A-Are you sure you h-have the right timeline, a-as far as we know…"  
" **no, this timeline still has a sans and an alphys apparently; we have to have done something wrong.** "

"W-Welll we w-where still able to time travel the first time. M-Maybe there's some other part of the f-formula?"

" **i hope not.** " Sans did seem to be considering it. " **but, with his insistence on shorthands…** "

"W-Well…"

" **if he excluded something, there had to be some reason…** " Alphys watched as the skeleton fiddled with the monitor again.

There was a soft knock on the lab door.

"H-Hold on a moment! I'll g-get the door!" Alphys sprung out of her chair and let the doors come open. Shyren was levitating in front of the doorway, her hair was covering both of her eyes at the moment, as opposed to the usual one that Alphys saw on occasion. When she spoke her voice was whispy.

"Miss Alphys, it's about my sister…"

"O-Oh um… a-alright? Wh-What is it.."

The fish-creature's lantern flickered briefly, she levitated backwards a few paces. "U-Um…" Alphys glanced backwards towards Sans.

" **ay, you wouldn't want to ruin things for yourself. 'sides, i'm just gonna be going through some files from downstairs.** "

Alphys hurried after Shyren, who had levitated a few paces further.

"Tra la la. Hello again fickle doctor. I see you have brought along a substitute siren." Shyren hummed a small tune in conformation. "Hunchbacks are bad for your health on wednesdays. Tra la la." The boat departed at a rather quick speed. They also added another "Canines are good travelers. I speak from experience; you don't."

The river person turned it's head to Shyren. "... You know what to do." Alphys caught a faint smile from the monster. She started humming a simple tune; the river person joined in, on occasion instructing her. "That's all for tomorrow. I'll see you for today later."

Shyren led the doctor to a long straight in the middle of Waterfall, it took far longer than she would of liked to get there. She gave a single note of notice and a creature emerged from the water, albeit very slowly.

"It's Onionsan! Onionsan, y'hear!" The octopus lowed its eyes towards the two of them. "Oh! Hi again Shyren! Do you want anything?"

The monster remained silent.

"Oh right! Silly me, I made a big mistake!" Onionsan lowered a tentacle down to the two of them, Shyren slanted her body, gesturing for Alphys to step on. "Oh! So you're doctor Alphys, aren't you? Aren't you?! Wow! I never thought I'd get to actually talk to somebody famous!"

"W-Well, I'm n-not famous r-really, I'm j-just the royal scientist."

" _Just_ the royal scientist! I mean, you even have like, royal in your title, y'hear." Alphys had noticed that the octopus was failing to effectively carry her across the river. Shyren was already levitating over. "Gee, golly, gosh, gloriosky! I never get to talk to anyone around here! Just me... and this lake… But that's okay now! I'm being visited by you now, y'hear!"

"A-Actually I really need to get going."

"Oh! Right, I completely forgot about it, y'hear! Sorry! I guess I got excited… maybe… Not that it's important!" The octopus put her in jumping distance of the other side of the lake. "Ya know, maybe if someone other than Shyren lived here, I'd get to talk all the time! Well unless they were another Shyren… then I'd just be me again…"

Shyren flinched briefly, the octopus didn't seem to notice. "Alright! I'll see you on the way back across! Bye~!" The monster continued to drag out the last syllable as they descended into the water.

Shyren escorted the doctor to a rather small driftwood house a few minutes more from where Onionsan stayed. She seemed particularly persistent on being a hermit. Despite the outward appearance Shyren had made the place particularly cozy. The house probably had enough room to support a guest for a few nights. Shyren lead the doctor down the hall and gestured to a single doorway before retreating back into the living room.

The doctor turned the doorknob and slid inside. "E-Er… h-hello?"

Another siren-like monster floats above the bed. Her hair, as opposed to Shyren's was purple and braided, and a set of fangs could be seen hanging from her mouth. Actually, they were doing far more than hanging. The yellow teeth were growing downward, expanding. They stuck the the monster's jaw, molding into the skin. She slowly turned her head up to face the doctor. Alphys could hardly make out the eyes.


	25. Chapter 24 - Ad Perpetuam Memoriam

Sans was alarmed by just how cluttered the underground laboratory was. It wasn't the first time he was faced with a change in this particular setting, but he could usually figure out where what he needed was located and get out quickly. I seemed like this doctor used this area in particular far more often than the other two he'd been acquainted with.

Sans had to file through various videotapes just to find anything he was looking for. They were sticky too, like in the previous timeline. There were still a good few that piqued his interest, but he reasoned he had people waiting for him elsewhere, Papyrus in particular. In all honesty, Sans hated the prospect of the little skeleton having to take care of himself, but there was no point wasting energy worrying over it. Papyrus was always insistent on taking care of himself anyway.

Eventually the skeleton found a deteriorating binder with the usual symbol ridden text. It had been at the very back, jammed behind her own research. Sans grabbed it by the spine and held it mid-air, a few papers fell out before he even unlatched the metal rings. A distorted voice vibrated from somewhere.

"It's been a while..."

The skeleton jumped to his feet, he nearly tripped on the papers he scattered across the floor.

"We're still here…"

A small monster flickered in the doorway, a near unidentified glob of bones and faces.

"Come back. You've been missing out!" The gap at the bottom of it's face curved into a smile. "I'm what you're looking for, _aren't I_? Come join the fun!

"" **excuse me? do you really think i'll take you up on some freaky offer like that? h-heh… come on now, notta chance.** "

The creature wavered before falling into the floor. The skeleton remained frozen, refusing to move from place for several moments. He eventually stepped forward.

"͘͏͟Y̨͝o҉u̶̡͞ ̨͜m̸͟͞ą̡͡d̵̶͝é̵͏̡ ̶̧̢́y̸̧o̷͠͝u̢̨͘ŗ͞ ̷͝c̢̧h͘͟͟ơ͝͝͝i͝͏c̶͏̶ę̧̢ ̨́͢͜҉l̸̢̛͡ǫ̀҉̶n̡͡͏̡ǵ͢ ̛͘a͏ģ̢͢o̶҉̷̡!̴͜͞"̀҉̸̨͠ ̕͜

* * *

"Sans... Sans... Sans. Sans. Sans!" The skeleton arched his head backwards, groaning awake. A hand rhythmically tapped on his shoulder. "It's been exactly one minute and twenty-four seconds, and counting, since six of the clock ante meridiem."

" **er… so what…** "

"SO WHAT! I. Can. Not. Believe. You. The doctor is going to totally freak out on you! You have to get to work already!" A particularly lanky monster was staring down at the skeleton. His whiskers pushed his set of spectacles back onto his face.

" **eh, you're gonna worry yourself to death.** "

"EXCUSE! ME!" He hesitated. "I'm sorry! I mean-"

Sans chuckled. " **ay, are we doing anything important today?** "

"THE. NERVE." The monster's pulled at his gray sweater, glancing aside. "I shouldn't of done that. No. No, not in the grand scheme of things, but… but. but! Doctor Gaster always does important things! So…" He cleared his throat "For shame!"

" **alright then** …" Sans slowly slid from the desk he found himself sitting at, landing his feet on the tiled floor. " **so… er…** "

"SO?! ER?!"

" **uh… yeah, that…** " The skeleton scanned the old laboratory. He was certainly on the round floor, though the lighting and tiling was as lackluster as it was in the true lab. " **has anything, ya know, inexplicably freaky happened?** "

"No! I will not fall for another one of your practical jokes! You will not get under my- I mean. No. No sir… but my guard is heightened!"

His old co-worker certainly seemed identical to his previous self in the moment, though his whole memory was hazy on the subject . He wasn't sure how much he had remembered of him before hand, but an image of the worker was clear in his head no. Sans was more than ready for some lovecraftian nightmare spawn to jump into what was so clearly an illusion. He might as well enjoy what was there until it wore off. He wasn't in any immediate danger anyway.

" **say, i heard that the doctor re-scheduled again. something 'bout optimizing our time off to up efficiency or whatever. also there was something in there about lunch, so that's kinda important i guess.** "

"Wait. Wait! What! Really?! He's changing lunch again?! But I'd just figured out how to sn- I mean! I didn't say anything! I'll be right back! YOU GET TO WORK NOW!"

Sans hopped back onto his rolling chair and propelled himself forward with magic, let his chair spin him to the conveyer belts. It was at that point he jumped off.

"YOU'VE ALREADY BROKEN FIVE CHAIRS! Wait… er… I mean..."

" **i know.** "

He slouched himself against the wall, allowing himself to be brought forward effortlessly.

" **heya, are you there doctor?** " The skeleton tapped his foot against the ground. " **gaster?** "

The skeleton slowly edged his foot forward. He walked past the surplus of monitors and over the tiling to the desk in the center of the back room. A skeletal tail was wrapped around the leg of the chair that occupied the royal scientist. Three horns where visible from the head that had collapsed on the table. The doctor's choice black trench coat was draped over the chair.

Sans found himself fighting the temptation to document the doctor's position. He would surely think that his unconscious state was worth a world shame. Instead, he brought it to himself to tap him lightly on the shoulder.

"SANS…?" The doctor spoke in his usual tongue. Suddenly the pupils from his eyes vanished. "WHY?"

Sans flinched in response to the change in tone.

" **g-gaster? w-what's with you?** "

"WHY ARE YOU SURPRISED?" His head slowly began to tilt downward, it moved further than it should've.

" **i-** " He hesitated. " **i really shouldn't be, given the situation, huh?** **i figured, th-that maybe, since i'm in this place-** " He exhaled. " **w-well, you know how it is...** **anyway, doctor, i have a report for you.** "

There was a deep laugh that had never belong to the scientist before. "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND A THING? DO YOU?

" **of course i do! there's no way that-** "

His voice shifted to another town again. "w̵h̷y͏ ̸e͞ve̡n tr̵y͞?"

The phrase seemed to invade the skeleton resonating with his very being." **w-what are you-** "

The doctor's mouth opened, and he spoke. Jaw unmoving.

"T̴h͟e͞re ìs ̀not̡hing l͝e͝f̡t f͏or us̀ he҉ŗe.́ Le͢t̸ ͟us͞ ͡ȩra͟s̸e ̵th͞i̷s ́p̧o͠intless ͢woŕld ̕a҉n̕d move on͜ t͏o ͢t͝he ne̛xt͝."͡ He abruptly shifted to his next sentence, with each word the skeleton was further locked into place. "͝Chara͏. T̶h͜i͠ś p̢ļa̴c̀e̡ i҉s͜ ̧fin͞e͡ ̛the̴ ҉w͞a̷y i͜t ̛ís̡! S-S͞ţop ̷ma͘k͟ing ̀t͞hąt͝ ͜cr̴èépy͝ fàc̛e̶! T̴h͞is͜ ͟i̢şn҉'͜t ̛funn̵y! You̧'v̕ę ́g͜o̵t a SICḰ ̵s͟e͢nse ̢of̵ ͜hum̨or̛!̕"́͜E̸̵v̧́͢ę̛͜r̷̛̛͟͞y҉̶̧̨͡t́͜͠h̛͠i̴̧̕͡n̢̕͢͝͝ǵ̵͘͠ ̀͡f͜͜ư̵̢͠ǹ̨̡c̶̸̛t̶̴̕͜i̵͡o̕͘n̵̢͘s̸҉̢ ̸̢͜p̴̀̀e͟ŕ̷̢̢͜f́͏͏ȩ̶̕͞c͡͡҉t͏̸̕l̢̀y̸̢͘͟ ̸͘͡w̵͜i̷̢͜t̸̡̛͡͞h̨́́o̢͢ú̷̕͘͢t̵͘͢ ̨͟y͢͏҉̸o̸ư̶.̢̢̧͘ ́͜H̴͝ą͜͢͞,͞͝҉ ̷̧̕h̷̵͟á̢͘.̕͢.҉̧.̶̢ ́́̕ţ͢͡h̷̴̢͟ȩ͘ ͏̵̴t́̕͏͘h̡̛o͏͏̵̕ừ̡͢҉g̷̸͟h̵̡̛̛͞t̢͘͝ ͠҉̧t̴͜e̴̕͝͡r̷̷̢̛͡r̷̶͜͝͝ì͡f̢̕ì̀e̶s̨̨ ͏͟m҉̢́e̸͟.̧̧ ̷̧̛P̸̕l̸͞͞ę͜͢a̧ś͏̸e̴̕ f̸̢́͟ǫ̵͢r̵̶̨̀́-̧̢͡"̸̡̀

"Sans!"

An Alphys, which if Sans where to venture to get he had yet to meet, was seemingly staring down at the skeleton. There were slowly mending cracks all across his vision. He found himself lying on the floor and slowly he swung himself upward. Upon rising he found his joints were lightly coated in the same substance that the DVDs where.

"I-I'm so s-sorry! I sh-should've warned you- I- I-"

" **relax, relax, it's probably alright.** " The skeleton was failing to support his statement, and by extension his own weight, by stumbling onto a wall.

"S-Sans! Th-That was- O-Oh my god! I'm so sorry!"

At the very least he knew for sure which Alphys this was, seeing as she had some knowledge of what was going on. Though he was mildly troubled by her reaction to, whatever that creature was.

"D-Do you need to lie down? I-It's alright! Everything's fine! This happens all the time! I er… I mean.. I…. I haven't been having any trouble I just- It's just-"

" **alright sure, why not?** " The doctor seemed relieved that he had dropped the topic.

"E-Er… alright, I'll see what I can do. U-Uh… c-can you…"  
" **yeah, it's no big deal, just lead the way.** "


	26. Ad Interim II

Papyrus was gripping at his skull. He had awoken a few mere minutes ago, scarfless. His boots were in the process of being singed, and he had been quite concerned for the state of his soul in the fire as he faded to unconsciousness. He'd seemed to of been placed in a half-decent riverside clearing, though he was pretty sure he wasn't there beforehand. The mad dummy was sharpening his knife with a levitating rock in the corner of his eye, muttering angrily.

"UM… MISTER DUMMY SIR?" The dummy turned to him. His knifed moved alongside his head, but he showed a strange amount of restraint. "WHERE IS EVERYONE EXACTLY?"

"I don't know. I don't know! Why do you expect me to know? This is ridiculous. They were supposed to be following! I come back and I realize I have to lug you around. This was all an elaborate prank set up by your brother! It has to be! That no good idiot. He doesn't even take war seriously."

"NOW NOW! THERE'S NO REASON WHATSOEVER TO BE DEMEANING!" The skeleton glanced around the smoked clearing. "YOU DON'T SAY THINGS LIKE THAT ABOUT PEOPLE! ESPECIALLY MY BROTHER!"

"Why's it matter? He's never gonna hear it."

"NOT IF I SAY OTHERWISE!" The dummy eyed him down. Still sharpening his knife.

"NOT IF… IF I SAY OTHERWISE…" The skeletons voice dwindled. His line of vision shifted off the dummy. In response to the skeleton the dummy gave one sentence.

"Go see Asgore. He's working on whatever it is…"

"ASGORE…" He hesitated. "ASGORE! RIGHT. I WILL DO THAT. PLEASE DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME YET!"

"Wasn't worried in the first place."

The skeleton scrambled back onto his feet. He glanced around and made dramatic stances in every which direction. "UM... WELL THIS IS QUITE THE PUZZLE, IS IT NOT?" Papyrus put a hand to his chin as he waited for the dummy.

"He's headed back to the city for something or other."

"WOWIE! YOU SURELY ARE A MASTER OF LOGICAL DEDUCTION." The dummy shook his head and gave an overly audible sigh. "IT'S CALLED A COMPLIMENT."

"It's called shallow. Shallow. Shallow!-"

Papyrus, who could see the city from where he was located due to the felled and burnt trees, slunk away from the dummy not particularly in the mood for listening to much more from him. His prime interest was in Asgore actions in the moment.

Papyrus vaulted himself atop one of the human's buildings and placed a hand above his eyes, considering the sky was covered in smoke it didn't really matter. He scanned the area for any hint of the king. He found a cluster of monsters in the corner of his eyes. He hopped, skipped, and flipped into the crowd. Asgore was addressing them as he predicted.

"YOUR MAJESTY! I HAVE RETURNED!" All the monster's eyes shifted onto him. The skeleton 'nyeh-ed' triumphantly and savored the moment a while longer. "I HAVE RECEIVED NEWS FROM ANOTHER MONSTER WHO WAS PART OF THE FOREST PATROL! YOU PLAN TO USE YOUR SOUL POWERS TO SOLVE THIS OCCURRENCE! I THE GREAT PAPYRUS, KNOWING HIS HONORABLE MAJESTY, CAN VOUCH THAT YOU WILL ACT NOW! NOW IS THE BEST TIME OF COURSE, I-ISN'T IT?"

"Oh… well yes. I do plan on action soon." The king urged the skeleton stand beside him. "Since you have brought it up I suppose I should really get started. Perhaps it doesn't really matter but…" The king placed his trident on the ground, forming an improved line between him and the audience.

"I do understand that in the moment you all hold great disdain for humanity, I ask that you allow yourselves to think briefly of my child, Chara." The crowd, which would normally be allowed to make comments fell silent, though their faces didn't suggest they were doing as requested. "I am now asking you to place your trust in one human. Only one. The one that last passed through our abode. This may be alarming, but their soul has suggested a use for my abilities. If what is said is true, we can return to the start of this war, and then, if you'd like, we can strike the humans with our full force."

Asgore paused, but the crowd was still in silence. "That being said, it is only if you'd like. I understand that this is not the entire monster populous, but I think I can guess as to some of the votes from some of our citizens . So if you would please give your true opinion here and now. Do not feel pressured by those around you if you would please, there is no way you can change your mind." Given the recent occurrence of events the outcome was fairly obvious. Most of the monsters in the crowd sent a figment of their magic into the air in approval.

The king slowly nodded. "Very well. This may take some time to sort out between the souls. Hopefully with at least the one on my side... " Asgore shook his head. "Please, do not worry yourself over my further musings. I am a king of the people, your will will be fulfilled." The king bowed his head, and with that the people scattered. Papyrus stayed by his side.

"Papyrus, I will do you and everyone else better this time. I will continue untill I find what's best."

"Y-YOUR MAJESTY… ABOUT MY BROTHER…"

"There is no need to lament now. That will be remedied soon. Please, just wait patiently."


	27. Chapter 25 - Nemo Malus Felix

"A-Alright! Hold on! I'll think of something… I'll think of something…" The doctor was practically flailing around the room, in a swift pace to all the objects in the area. She couldn't afford to endanger the second Alphys, there was a good chance they'd need any information they could get. This must have been what the Sans from the last timeline was deliberating about. The state of this monster, who was only getting worse by the second. Why did he need to stay so tight lipped? She should've definitely pried for more information. She felt like she should be chewing someone out in the moment, she'd had plenty of practice on forum boards before- who was she kidding arguing over the ideal pairing for Mew Mew was not legitimate practice.

Shyren's sister had seemed to already notice something was off with the doctor's actions.

"Doctor."

"O-Oh! S-Sorry I…"

"You assumed I couldn't speak."

"I… n-no I didn't!"

The siren gave a tiny chuckle before lifting her head and meeting the doctors eye's. "Please get to work."

"I… I mean… I can but- um… I… I… Hold on!" The doctor rushed herself out the door of her room and shut the door behind her. She started panting despite her lack of any real exercise. She ran into the small living room.

Shyren tilted her head at the doctor as she passed into the room, she already had her hand on the door handle.

"Oh uh… It's nothing! I just- just um- forgot something at the lab is all. I'll um… be right back!" The doctor was out the door and to the side of the pool of water where the octopus resided in instants.

"Well hiya there it's been awhile!" Onionsan was more than eager to let the doctor climb on." Well… actually it's only been like ten minutes, but that's not important. "Ya know you look kinda tired! Which is weird, because it hasn't been to long but- maybe you should get some rest anyway. It's just a recommendation; Ya know, as a friend."

The doctor remained silent.

"Oh sorry! I guess royalty can't exactly relax can they? I understand that!" The octopus eventually placed her back on the regular path, far too slowly for Alphys' tastes.

"Well, um… buddy! You have a good day! Make sure to come back later… maybe… okay?"

The octopus slowly descended into the water, not that Alpys would have noticed. The doctor aimlessly ran back towards the general direction of the lab, bolting straight past the statue. She arrived at the end of the hallway, tripping straight into the break in the path. The rest of waterfall was blocked off by a suddenly vertical cliffside. The layout of Waterfall was awfully unintuitive, Alphys hardly ever navigated the place. How in the world was she supposed to remember she needed to be ferried over by a duckling that was in the opposite direction of where she was supposed to go, though in all honesty the doctor may have been trying to excuse her panic.

The doctor eventually reasoned to get out her phone and try to at the very least get in contact with someone, which in her mind was a better idea than trying to figure out the situation. She decided to call for Sans firstmost, considering he knew some the actual situation. She may of been hoping that her phone wouldn't 'spontaneously combust' due to the time shenanigans, if not for the situation she'd been thrown into.

" **heh, heyo there doctor, how's waterfall.** "

"S-Sans! A-Are you-"

" **nah, i just know your every move.** "

"Sans! You sound terrible! Di-did you… did something- what is…"

" **don't worry about it, just worn out is all.** " She caught a weak laugh from the other side of the speaker. " **speakin' of, sounds like you're going through a situation yourself. you scared of water or something?** "

"Of course not! I just… I just… um… things didn't go over too well with Shyren is all…"

" **huh, right, i'll inform the other Alphys then. It sounds kinda important.** " There were a few seconds of silence. " **congrats, you've panicked yourself.** "

"O-Oh! I… I… alright, hold on, there has to be s-some solution to this… r-right?"

" **yup, it's called give me more details so i can explain what's goin' on to her.** "

" **alright doc, than much is done, over. there's nothing you can do about it.** " Sans spoke again when the doctor didn't respond. " **looks, i know you're probably over there kickin' yourself but there's probably not much you can do like that. 'sides, i'm not really in the mood. so how about you get back here and let the other you deal with things.** "

"S-Sans, I-I'm the one who-"  
" **side's this lab is probably full of leads, and it sounds like we both need a good bit of rest. I mean seriously, your reactions are getting on my** _ **nerves**_ **.** "

Alphys knew the skeleton was going for a cheap pun but still was bothered nonetheless.

"A-Alright… I'll head that way…"

* * *

"Sh-Shyren… Shyren? I'm s-so so sorry about what happened! I'm back now! Uh… let me in!" Though to be fair, Alphys didn't know exactly what happened, she'd just received a general primer form Sans. Though he was hardly the same Sans as she knew. Why'd he have to barge into her lab and layer more onto her situation? It was enough to deal with already. The fact that Alphys had the ability to think this much over while waiting for the door worried her. This was amplified even moreso when it was her sister who opened the door.

"O-Oh! Oh my god. I-I thought… you were supposed to… I mean um…. It's no problem… heh… heh… everything's fine! I can fix this! Er… has Shyren s-seen… I mean, she hasn't… because…"  
"Doctor, she's just worried about me."

"I-I… you're... I mean… you're not going to do anything are you! I can fix this. So you won't tell r-right!?" By now Alphys could notice Shyren in the doorway. "Y-Yeah! It's no pr-problem! It's just a… just a side effect is all. It'll go away… e-eventually… just g-give us a few minutes, okay?!"

Shyren's sister had already retreated to her room once she'd realize she was moreso talking to Shyren than herself.

"Doctor… um… thank you for my sister but…"

"I-I know. I'll um… I'll fix this. Okay?" The doctor felt like she was a broken record at this point. She headed back towards to room of Shyren's sister, hesitating as she put her hand on the doorknob. Shyren seemed to be staring her down as she turned to look at her. "Uh… just… don't tell anyone about this… o-okay?"


	28. Chapter 26 - Tu Fui Ego Eris

As doctor Alphys rode down the elevator she tapped her fingers against the metal supports. It eventually slammed against the ground and opened it's doors. As the light from the elevator flooded into the hallway a mass of slime lunged into the elevator. The doctor gave a particularly shrill shriek as the form of two paws pressed her into the ground. Her heart was still beating as it eagerly pressed its face into hers and imitated the movement of licking her cheeks.

"A-Alright, I'm s-sorry, g-get off me please!"

The dog obeyed at a rather stunning speed.

"Oh! I mean… er…"

The amalgamation pushed her forward a few inches, then skipped forward, glancing back at her. The doctor followed the canine through the hallways, straight to where Sans was had lazy lain himself on one of the beds. There were a few other monsters in the area, of varying health, a few of them were also canines.

" **heya doc.** "

"Uh…. yeah, h-heya." The skeleton chuckled at this. He took over once he realized she didn't have much to say.

" **given your face, betcha want me to tell you what i've pieced together. honestly, i'm pretty kinda bad at that. eh, it's not too hard to figure out anyway."** The doctor's face had already formed into a grimace.. " **what, ya really want me to do all the work for ya?** "

Sans followed after her as she walked down the hallways and started skimming the monitors in the lab. She didn't seem to even try to read them thoroughly. She had put it all together rather quickly. Sans seemed to pick up on this, and lead her back to where they started, not after grabbing something from the kitchen. He offered Alphys something but she refused to touch anything from the rattling fridge.

Alphys sat down on the bedside, she took a long in-breath and gave a deep sigh.

" **So?** "

"I-I dunno…"

" **aw… is it too much to take in for you?** " His tone was more than enough to get under the lizard's skin.

"S-Sans! There's no time for you to joke around, and I c-certainly don't need to be teased now!"

" **guess you have a point.** "

"S-So these… these monsters… the injection of determination." Alphys shook her head "I... did this."

" **you haven't done a thing, doc.** "

"B-but I'm going to, aren't I?"  
" **well, not anymore you won't, that's for sure."**

"Y-Yeah but I still would've! J-Just because I can cheat past it doesn't mean I deserve too! I still- in some form caused this, and these monsters are- they're-..."

" **well it's not exactly cheating. it's just convenient.** " Sans sat upward and spoke more in response to the silent tics of Alphys than her words. " **look alphys, it's probably a good deal to comprehend for you, and maybe you feel guilty about cheatin' consequences but seriously, lighten up a bit. we're not here for a crazy introspective journey, we just need to head back. no need to look a gift horse in the mouth.** "

"I…" Alphys glanced up at the skeleton, who she was convinced was anxious to get a move on and swallowed her complaints. "A-Alright but… I'm going to try to help out some okay? We've probably made things harder for her already. I-It's the least I can do." The lizard continued to keep her eyes lowered. Sans was slightly right in the fact that she should probably be grateful, but even still she was slightly irked by his approach.

" **do whatcha want, i think i've already got a lead. just don't get too wrapped up here.** "

The skeleton rose to his feet and set to the lab again. He didn't plan on being here much longer. The doctor probably wouldn't have much time to do anything, and she'd probably be better off just about anywhere else. It was nice of her to be concerned but they were going to move on soon, anyway, so what did it matter. The solution to the machine's problem was simple. Alright, to be fair he had little to no reason to think so, but he'd come across another gut feeling. 'Determination', as was listed on the reports. 'The power to change fate' was the real part he was interested in. It seemed like something a time machine would need in excess, though maybe it was a bit abstract. With how crazy the old doctor could be, it might be something he could work with.

The main problem would be actually finding it. He'd plenty of experience with the area but the changes that where there were enough to disorientate him. Amenities had been set up for all the monsters that were staying here. He thought it might be refrigerated but the fridges were filled with more food than he could bother to name. He moved next to the centermost room, past the second elevator. There was a machine there, it looked to be for generating power, but in the center of it glew a pulse of red, the doctor had carved the shape of a soul into the device. The skeleton was more than eager to try to figure it out. He couldn't think of any reason for a glorified circuit breaker to have a luminescent heart stamped onto it.

He eventually, after what might have been a power failure or two, found a capsule of determination emerged from inside the device. It gave off a red glow, albeit weak. It was half used. Sans slowly unscrewed the lid. He drew a small amount of the liquid from the pool with syringe, and slipped it in his pocket.

"How dare you."

Sans turned around to a monster with a half-closed eye that melted down into a crooked smile.

"You can't do that. That's not yours to steal. It's only mine."

" **excuse me?** "

"Hand it over." The melted monster lifted an arm. Orbs of magic appeared behind it.

" **heh, is that supposed to scare me or something? i mean come on, a bit of magic is all?"**

"You dare to mock me?" The monster was clearly growing in frustration. "Hand it over." It repeated. The creature seemed to narrow it's eye, though it was so disfigured he could of merely been blinking. When Sans refused to act they let loose their temper and shot all of the magic towards him. Sans sidestepped effortlessly and chuckled.

" **really, is that all you got?** "

The monster repeated the action, trying to speed to movement of the magic and scatter the energy but Sans simply slid to the side. He cast his hands behind his head and smiled.

"That's it! That's it! Hand it over right now! Stupid skeleton! You don't know what you're doing! It's mine!" The horned monster summoned a rather sudden set of blasts of energy, at the same time charging forward at the skeleton. He intend for him to have no choice but to dodge into them, but the skeleton activated his powers. The monster froze in place He casually stepped around them to the other side and resumed time early, not wanting to wear himself out.

The skeleton was chuckling heartily as the monster charged forward. He got his horns caught on the machine, his magic started wavering.

" **so ya need help with that?** "

"Don't pity me!"

" **ya sure?** "

"Don't defy me."

" **i don't get why you're so insistent, you really don't-** "

The spheres of magic combusted on the two of them at the will of the monster. Sans had a split second to react. He attempted to activate his magic, lighting his eye. In the margin of time he had it collided with the magic he was weaving. The energy burst into the engraved breaker behind them.

The light in the room was flickering, Sans' back was against the wall again. Astigmatism reformed from a pool in the center of the room, his form even more distorted than the last time.

"Hand it over! I said so, and what I says goes!"  
" **seriously, dude, calm down. it's just a bit of determination, you can get-** "

The skeleton realized he was gesturing at a broken container. " **oh, now look at what you did, what are you going to st-** "

Astigmatism thinned out it's body and extend its hand into goo, suddenly swiping the vial from his pocket.

" **welp, didn't expect you do that.** " The skeleton put his palm in front of him and altered gravity to bring it back to him.

Well he tried to. There was no reaction.

"Heh. Lucky me!"  
" **hey, you can't taunt me, that's my shtick.** "

The monster didn't bother answering he made his way for the exit. Sans shot a barrier of bones straight through the ground and into the wall above. Astigmatism ran straight through reforming on the other side. Sans withdrew the barrier and attempted to pursue. Apparently the machine was integral to the structure of the whole room, when he withdrew the bones he had broke into the wall with the exit came crashing down.


	29. Chapter 27 - Omnia Mutantur, Nihil Inter

Alphys found herself fumbling around the dark, looking for where she'd place her phone. She put it aside somewhere. Eventually she found it when she heard it thud onto the tile flooring. She scrambled to pop it open and gain a faint amount of light. She instinctively reached behind her for a screwdriver.

"Need something?"

The doctor jumped to a low pitched laugh.

"Are my muscles too much for you? Hmm?" The seahorse winked. "Do you think I'm creepy or something?" He held the bottom of his hand to his chin and wiggled an eyebrow. "Well it's okay to be accountable, miss. I'd really like to get back in shape though. I think my eyes are fading, don't you?"

"N-No, The lights are just out is all."

"Aw, come'on, I was getting excited for my appointment already." The doctor found she could sympathize with her parallels stress even more. It didn't make her opinion of the situation any better.

Distantly the pair heard a crash. Alphys sprung back into attention. Aaron only had to follow after the glowing screen of her phone, which she kept on as she ran.

"You really could try to run faster doll. I don't even have to try to keep up." Alphys was panting in front of the center door in the main room. It had locked itself somewhat tightly. Though there was probably a way to reactivate the power.

"Oh, so you have a bit of a problem, hm? I guess I can help with that." Aaron focused a clean punch on the door.

"H-Hey, you didn't need to do that! We could've just-"

"I see a door, I punch it. What do you expect me to do? Open the thing?"

An explosion of magic opened the other door connected to the elevator.

"See! He's knows what it's about." Aaron made sure to make eye contact with the doctor and wink again.

"You're in my way." Alphys identified Astigmatism before her, a red vial in was stuck in what was left of a hand.

"You mean my muscles are in the way? Right? Hmm?"

"No. You're just in my way."

"And by extension~"

"No! No your muscles are not in my way! They aren't!"

"U-Um… what's going on…"

"It's easy to understand doctor! In fact you can settle this argument, can't you? Mmm?"

"U-Uh… I can?"

"Is my well built physique the factor preventing this monster from moving forward? Remember, your answer will influence my _cooperation_."

"He's clearly not! I said so, and I'm right! I can be obnoxious as much as he can! Besides, you're in my way too! I'm right, he's wrong!"

"I-I'm sure that, um… uh... w-well maybe…"

"This is stupid! I'm objectively correct! End of story!"

The monster let go of his form, falling into a pile of mush and began sliding under them.

"That's how it is?" Aaron winked at the pile before lunging after it. "What's in your way now!"

"Get off!" Astigmatism practically growled at Aaron. He attempted to pull away from Aaron while holding the vial away from his head. Alphys caught onto the motion, and grabbed it from him.

"That's mine! I said so!"

The doctor observed the vial, she slipped in her pocket and sat down a few feet away from the struggling monsters.

"That was determination right?"

"What does it matter? Get me away from him!"

"S-So it is, isn't it… Why do you want it then? The determination is what did this to you, right?"

"Doctor, I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to pity him later. I'd just like some distance between us now, can you do that? Hmm?"

"Uh… e-excuse me?" Astigmatism answered by trying to take a more solid form and step away from the horse, whom he pulled along with him.

"O-Oh my… I… uh… uh… okay, I'll help. Hold on. I'll figure something out. I'll um… try to stay still. Don't make it worse, o-okay!?"

"I'll do what I want!" The doctor narrowed her eyes. "W-Which is what you're asking."

"A-Alright s-so, um…" The doctor attempted to regulate her breathing. "Th-There's a um… d-determination extractor in the lab. I-If we try that on-"

"Hmm? Is something wrong doctor? You do remember what happened with the 'memory heads' don't you? Are you light-headed? Don't worry, you can always lean on me."

"You already gave up. That's why the dogs are together. Why are you trying again?"

"U-Uh… b-because I… I um... " The doctor started awkwardly laughing. "O-Okay. M-Maybe we can support your bodies with wire framing, a-and um… you'll still be… I… I…"

"Doctor. You tried this."

"I-I… I don't know. It's just… I need to... "

"Whatever! It's Aaron's fault in the first place!"

"Excuse me? My fault?"

"C-Calm down you t-two really can't afford to f-fight right now. Th-There's still gotta be something. There's at least got to be a small way I can a-assist you, right?"

"You can give me my vial back."

"W-Why do you want it?"

"I don't need to tell you." Astigmatism outstretched his hand, pulling some of Aaron forward with him. The doctor recoiled. "Hand it over already."

The doctor blinked at him. "D-Determination… it's just the condensed form of a feeling, isn't it?" The doctor had moved the vial away from Astimatism's hands and was clutching at it. She'd been surprised that Astigmatism hadn't lashed out yet, though maybe it was due to Aaron's 'intervention'. "The will to keep living, the resolve to change fate. That's exactly how it was described. R-Right?"

"Yes! Yes! That's why I need it, hand it over!"

"I… I'm sorry. I don't think I can yet."

"What! Why!?"

"When you busted down the door, you seemed to be… in a bit of a hurry. Who were you running from?"

"I-I… That's not important."

"I need to ask a few questions first. If I can help you too I will, but first…"  
The doctor stood up and carefully walked over the shards of metal from the ruined doors. She followed the wall with her hand, stopping when it brushed up against a pile of debris. She knocked on it like a door.

"U-Uh, hello? I-Is anyone-"

" **heya doc**."

"S-Sans! What are you doing?!"

" **well nothin' in particular. you happen to catch a one-eyed cyclops."**

"Astigmatism." The doctor corrected.

" **yeah, astigmatism, whatever. did you get your hands on what he had. we need it."**

"Y-Yeah… u-uh… c-can you get out of there."

" **well i can't exactly shortcut myself through a wall. magic's kinda out of the picture too.** **kinda got a** _ **bit**_ **overconfident.** "

"A-Are you sure you're alright? I can g-get some help."

" **I'm fine alph, don't freak out too much.** " The doctor wasn't particularly fond of his assumption. " **you might have to grab some of the monsters in the lab though. i doubt the elevator is gonna work untill we fix the power.** "

"U-Uh…. Right. I'll find someone! You wait there, okay?"

" **got it**."


	30. Chapter 28 - Age Quod Agis

The amalgamated canines were digging at the closed doorway. Alphys wasn't sure which two canines had combined, or if there were more than two, but they seemed to have agreed on their current form. They weren't exactly the most efficient at the task but they were the most willing. She was watching, from a distance at the dogs' urging. The rubble was slowly being spread across the floor.

Sans on the other hand had gotten more than tired of waiting. He had attempted to restore the power, but he was going to need to be able to replace some of the materials. He'd elected to lay down next to the shattered device and text Alphys. She seemed a bit distracted in her response, which was reasonable. At the very least he'd got an account of what had happened from the doctor.

Eventually a slight amount of light could be spotted from the doorway. Alphys squeezed through, nearly tripping over the skeleton.

" **heyo.** " He held a hand in front of his face.

"S-Sans!"

One of the other residents of the lab, Sans' couldn't tell who in the dark, dropped a few parts atop the skeleton. " **yeah, those 'il probably work.** " His hand contorted into a thumbs up. " **we'll get to work doc.** "

"S-Sans! You're the one who- I- I mean… um…"

" **i'm slightly wounded and slightly exhausted. give a guy a break.** "

"Wounded!?" Sans flickered his left eye in response. "O-Oh! D-Do you need anything! There's a food dispenser outside, i-if we can find it-"

" **nah, i'm fine. it's not a matter of hit points anyway.** **i'll just give it some time.** "

The residents of the True Laboratory that had stayed instead of being sent home where far more eager to aid them than the doctor had imagined. The amalgamated dogs had delivered them a bag of chips to the two as they worked on the power, though the canines ended up begging half the bag off Alphys in particular. The doctor was rather bothered that she hadn't seen Aaron and Astigmatism at all during the time period. Eventually the power was back on, despite a sloppy repair job. The two agreed to make sure it could stay on for a few minutes before taking the elevator back up.

As they reached the first floor they found the future Alphys, she'd had wrapped a blanket around herself and was staring a computer screen. She was nibbling at a spoonful of ice cream. Her headphones were out, and somehow the computer had been cranked up to a painful volume. She seemed be watching the usual anime of choice, though it must have been somewhat recent because the other doctor squeaked and rushed to the computer. The other doctor fell out of her chair.

"Y-You can't just play spoilers aloud like that! If I know about Mew Mew's new character development I'll be trying to figure out how she gets there for ages!"

"Wait! T-The elevator's working again?" The doctor scrambled to her feet.

" **yeah.** " The skeleton chuckled. " **it's fixed.** "

"O-Oh… that's a relief… it sounded like something terrible had happened a-and…"

" **everything's alright, and your friends can't really be damaged much anyway.** "

"F-Friends!? Oh… right."

" **we're gonna be trying taking off soon; i'm sure it's a relief to have less trouble.** "

"I-It hasn't b-been that bad… It's fine. Really. Don't worry about it. I can handle it."

"Uh… Are you sure, I mean."

" **welp, you heard her, we need to get going Alphys.** "

"W-We've hardly even s-stayed her that long. I m-mean, I w-wanted to at least help out some. M-Maybe try to… try to figure out how to help the amalgamates or…"

The other Alphys forced a tiny smile alongside placing a hand behind her neck. Her eyes naturally tilted to floor as her head leaned to the side. "I g-guess it's kinda easy to read me, huh? ... Don't worry, y-you've better things to fuss over right? Yeah, go ahead and get moving. I h-have um… I have my own help already anyway so…"

"A-Alright, I guess…"

" **look alph, it's nice of you to wanna help but we can't try to fix things in every single timeline we go to. just get in and get out as fast, we shouldn't be here anyway.** "

"I-I get it. I-It's just, well, you know, I was kinda expecting to be able to help out a bit. We could be like um… like… really lame heroes." Alphys only added the adjective just before the sentence finished, realize how corny it made her sound. She hadn't really thought over the full meaning of her statement. "Y-You know, we could be useful? H-Help out in exchange for the confusion… and the problems… and anything we take from here…" It hit her now, and Sans had already caught on.

" **so, you wanna keep traveling then? even after what we've seen, and the 'conflict' you're so worried about us creating?** "

"I… I mean… I… I guess?" Sans had already finished preparing the machine at this point. The doctor had yet to have noticed, and while he found the delay somewhat frustrating he figured it didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. The current conversation was proving fruitful anyway.

" **you do realize the machine could fail on us again, and who knows where i'll need to go. i might even end up stuck or dusted eventually.** "

"Y-Yeah but… Asgore is expecting me to start my research and well…. I'm kind of short a project now." She pulled at the collar of her labcoat.

" **oh yes, asgore, i am abandoning me previous research to go on a** _ **time traveling adventure.**_ " The skeleton waved two open palms in the air and chuckled.

"It's a valuable time traveling adventure, thank you very much!" The doctor was surprised she wasn't ridiculed for that statement.

" **alright, as long as we try to break the barrier after we re-recruit an irreplaceable scientist.** "

"It's a deal then!" Especially so, seeing as the doctor would probably have the aid of said scientist.

" **good timing on my part too.** "

The skeleton motioned for her to step back for a moment as he poured the determination into the tank to join what was left of what they'd extracted from the soul in the last timeline. " **well doc, let's hope i was right. I kinda doubt it but 'ey what else do we have.** " Alphys couldn't tell if he actually doubted his conclusion or not. As he pressed in the buttons he'd programed, he lifted his hand briefly, his eye flickered yellow. Upon this summoning of the 'portal' the energy required seemed to have been sputtered out of the machine. The portal fluctuated periodically, eating away at the usually mass of white smoke the machine conjured. There was little time left to observe it though as it suddenly ramped up in suction and hurled the two inside it with the machine.


	31. Chapter 29 - Hora Somni

"BROTHER!" Papyrus poked Sans in the side.

"Papyrus darling, it's only been a few minutes, let him rest will you? This isn't one of my television shows, he's not going to wake when it's most convenient for you."

The skeleton jumped atop the mattress next to his brother, the cushion fell with his feet. "WELL IT'S NOT FAIR! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOREVER, AND NOW I HAVE TO WAIT LONGER! I DEMAND YOU TO USE YOUR STARDOM TO FIX THIS PROBLEM TOO!"

The two were in the back of the laboratory. Papyrus, who had insisted on checking the CORE everyday after seeing the remnants of the first machine, had found both his brother and the doctor lying unconscious in the CORE along with their device. He fetched Mettaton shortly after and had practically forced him to carry the both of them back to the laboratory. Mettaton had placed Alphys in her own bed and pulled out a mattress for the skeleton, which Papyrus had informed him was his 'natural habitat'.

"Darling, I'm afraid that even stardom has a limits. I know, how dreadful, don't fret for I am a robot of knowledge as well! They will be just fine dear co-star!"

"OH, OKAY." The skeleton sat down next to his brother, the luster of Mettaton's flowery language was beginning to be lost on him. "IF YOU'RE SUCH A KNOWLEDGE ROBOT THAN WHEN WILL HE WAKE UP?"

"Well... given how long it's been… I'd say maybe… well… well well well… it'll be-"

" **eh, maybe give me another hour.** "

"BROTHER!" Papyrus fell atop sibling as he attempted to whip himself around to face him.

" **oh come on papyrus, i really not the type for hugs.** "

"UGH! BROTHER!" He pushed him backwards as he regained his balance. "I WASN'T HUGGING YOU, THAT WOULD IMPLY THAT I WAS WORRIED, AND I WAS NEVER WORRIED! SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME WOULD KNOW YOU WERE COMING BACK!"

" **oh, really? whelp, you've gotta be pretty great then.** "

"WELL OF COURSE I AM!" The skeleton struck another pose. "BUT SERIOUSLY BROTHER, NEXT TIME YOU BETTER TELL ME WHEN YOU GO AND DISAPPEAR INTO MACHINES."

" **alright, alright. i'll think about it.** "

"YOU'LL THINK ABOUT IT? SANS!? AGREE WITH ME!"

" **okay, i'll tell ya when.** "

The robot had been playing music from his 'heartwarming' playlist as background noise for the conversation, though it was quickly inapplicable.

"Come on now darlings! Where's the drama! The sentiment! You'll be far more appealing if you melt heart strings!"  
"THAT DOESN'T SOUND VERY HEALTHY!"

" **you're not recording.** "

"Well of course not, but our little star needs to practice~!" The robot placed a hand on Papyrus' head and raised the other into the air. Papyrus smiled rather broadly.

Sans decided not to push the subject of Papyrus and Mettaton. He probably wouldn't of anyway but it was still true that the fatigue was getting to him. The skeleton heaved himself off of the mattress and spotted Alphys at the other end of the backroom the all of them were in.

"OH RIGHT! YOUR SCIENCE FRIEND IS SLEEPING TOO! WHAT DID YOU TWO DO TO GET SO TIRED?" The smaller skeleton was already standing next to his brother.

" **eh, nothing major.** " Sans could feel Mettaton staring him down. He didn't ful0yl know how he'd been knocked out himself, be he guessed it had something to do with his damaged magic.

"SO CAN I BE FRIENDS WITH YOUR SCIENCE FRIEND TOO? METTATON IS, AND YOU ARE, WHY CAN'T I BE?"

" **didn't say you couldn't.** "

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!" The skeleton pushed his brother further ahead of him.

Alphys seemed to want to extend her break a little further. So Sans let Papyrus loudly badger him with questions.

"WHAT WAS SO IMPORTANT? WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL?"

" **i couldn't there was too much 'interference'. besides we were trying to get back.** "

"OH WELL, I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I GOT BACK AT YOU! I CLEANED YOUR ROOM WHILE YOU WERE GONE!"

" **oh no, not my room. whatever will i do.** "

"NYEH HEH HEH HEH! THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO AVOID THE GREAT PAPYRUS. NOT ANYMORE! I HAVE BECOME… UH… WHAT'S THE WORD... "

" **dependant?** "

"YES! I AM MYSELF-DEPENDANT NOW."

" **so is that why you're working with a robot now, because you can take care of yourself.** "

"NO SANS, I DON'T NEED METTATON, I WORK WITH HIM. HE JUST FEEDS ME AND WATCHES OVER ME SOMETIMES!"

" **alright. whatever you say bro.** "

Mettaton was already arranging the parts needed for the construction of his body on Alphys' desk, which the doctor could clearly see when she woke. She stayed rather silent and attempted to slip out of bed only to trip into Papyrus. The tiny skeleton brushed it off and caught the falling doctor on a row of bones he summoned from the, though this was somewhat painful.

"Th-thanks, Papyrus…"

"YOU ARE VERY WELCOME SCIENCE LADY!"

"Well, well, well, hello there doctor! I see you're doing rather fabulously, due to my service."

"Uh… not really…"

"Don't bluff now doctor, we've got work to do after all."

"METTATON, WE CAN'T DO TELEVISON THINGS! I NEED TO BE FRIENDS WITH HER FIRST. LET ME HAVE MY TURN." The robot decided to give in rather early, knowing that a begrudging Alphys and an eager Papyrus weren't worth dealing with simultaneously.

"I guess you can take a bit more time, just not too long. It's nice to know that things will return to normal I suppose." That was probably the best Alphys would get from the robot. "Do you want me to call Asgore, doctor, or do you want to go see him yourself and give a report on your absence." The robot was already reaching for the phone. "By the way, I made your disappearances very public, so if you get some weird questions I suppose you can blame me darling."

"WE PROMOTED ALL THE RUMORS!" The tiny skeleton bluntly shouted.

" **welp, that'll be fun.** " Sans commented. The doctor didn't like the possibilities this presented him.

'SANS! YOU NEED TO TELL ME WHAT YOUR SCIENCE FRIEND LIKES. IT'S PART OF THE FRIENDSHIP DEAL, YOU'LL TELL ME THINGS!"

" **come on now bro, you're spoiling the fun.** "

"FINE THEN! DOCTOR, WHAT DO YOU LIKE?"

Alphys was from there attacked with a good amount of questions, not including how she seemed to be acquainted with the younger skeleton. He'd probably wrote it off to his greatness or what not. The skeleton dragged the mostly one-sided conversation on for a good while, long enough for the robot to drop his attempt to put Alphys to work. This was partly helped along by Alphys but Papyrus was rather good at talking for hours on end. Both the skeleton and the doctor got some version of respite in this, though this did mean they weren't fully tuned into the conversation.

"SCIENCE ALPHYS! AS YOUR FRIEND I DEMAND YOU REST! YOU SAID YOUR FAVORITE FOOD WAS ANIME, AND THUS YOU MUST BE VERY TIRED!"

"H-Huh, what?"

"SANS! YOU TOO! ME AND METTATON NEED YOU TO BE IN TOP FORM TOMORROW FOR OUR NEWEST SHOW! YOU NEED TO NAP."

" **well, it's official. you want me to sleep after just waking. going to doze off again, have fun living this down papyrus.** "

"I WILL!" The skeleton shouted.


	32. Chapter 30 - Annuit Coeptis

"Are you sure Alphys? I had already gone and asked all of the families personally, there is no need to fear any backlash."

The doctor nervously tapped her fingers against the tiny cup of tea Asgore had poured. "O-Of course I'm sure! I-I mean, I wouldn't be af-afraid of anything like that, would I?"

"Now, now, doctor there is no need to be concerned about yourself. I myself was far moreso just yesterday, and I do not think this is helping." The king gave a rather small frown to her. "To have the Royal Scientist suddenly disappear along with a sentry and then on return will to cancel her efforts, you do understand, do you not?"

"I-I… I um… s-sorry!"

"Please, that's the fifth time in the last ten minutes. I will not hurt you, there is nothing to apologize for." The doctor was sure there was plenty to be remiss over.

"You are safe now, and while your actions now to bother me it is very good that the two of you returned. That being said, are you sure you can not inform me of what changed your mind?

"Well uh… I kind of ran into some, concerning e-evidence against what was w-working on…" The doctor still felt rather guilty about both the project and even more so how she had evaded the endgame, which is supposedly understandable.

"Oh, is that so?" Asgore seemed to sense that he shouldn't try to press the topic further. He held eye-contact a moment longer, seeing as Alphys didn't pick up on the que he spoke again. "So the other project you mentioned. 'Time travel' was it?"

"U-Um… y-yeah…" The doctor swung her tail around the leg of her chair. "Time travel…"

"Actually, the concept seemed to have been brought to me a long time ago, though I can't quite remember when. Your presence has brought that out in me recently, for whatever reason. Regardless, maybe that is why I am so willing to accept it."

"R-Really?!"

"I would like to think that was clearly stated." The king smiled at the doctor, his fangs were clearly visible. "Please, do not put yourself in any needless peril though. I can send the royal guard to help you, if you'd like."

"Y-You really don't have to-" The doctor's tail swung like a pendulum against the floor. "I m-mean, I guess we could just arrange for a meeting. Y-You know, I could get in contact with the head and um… I could maybe arrange to call h- whoever it is, i-if I feel like it's needed of course."

"You met with Undyne while you were gone, did you not?"

"Uh… m-maybe?"

"Oh, I see." The king was very clearly chuckling internally as he ran a hand through his beard, though he did seem to be trying to suppress his facial expression. "I will get that arranged for you then. For now why don't I visit your lab, I would like to see those two brothers again. It was awfully odd to see the smaller of the two lodged up in your lab… oh, what was his name again?"  
"P-Papyrus, sir…"

"Yes, let us go and make sure Papyrus and his brother are getting along well."

"Oh my! Here's Asgore himself! Taking his daily stroll around the underground I suppose! OH, but what's this! Yes! Why, it's just so surprising and fortunate my cameramen happened to be stationed here, for he is alongside the elusive Doctor Alphys! That's right, though there have been rumours, she is indeed back! Of course, I would be the first to report on this occurrence, don't be surprised darlings! The skeleton Sans, I can inform you, has also been located but he is a terribly boring subject. As can be clearly seen here the two of them are-"

"Mettaton, if you would please, you are impeding our progress."

The robot's screen briefly flashed red. "Did you hear that, underground? The king himself has addressed me! He has informed us that the two of them are making _progress_."

The two eventually, and miraculously, somehow got out of Mettaton range and into the laboratory, where the two brother where.

"HELLO SCIENCE ALPHYS! HELLO KING FLUFFYBOY!" Papyrus had eagerly bolted to the door as soon as he'd heard it open.

"Fluffyboy? Oh my, I believe you have the wrong nickname Papyrus."

"I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! HAVE YOU NOT HEARD IT? PEOPLE CALL YOU FLUFFYBOY ALL THE TIME."

The doctor picked up on a faux anime girl voice from behind Papyrus, it was horribly exaggerated and growing in volume.

" **huh, that's weird. i was sure that that valentine-senpai was meeting me around here somewhere. unless… oh no! did he forget about everything from last night because of my powers- i can't- i can't believe-** " Sans cut off the dialogue with a chuckle.

"S-Sans! Stop! Y-You're gonna get the bad ending if you keep going on that route." Alphys apparently didn't question how the skeleton had found her stash of videogames and overwritten the cameras with yet another device, the monitor was hardly used as intended now. "And she dosen't sound like that! Mew Mew is a far more complex character than your typical anime girl!"

" **oh okay, i guess you can just play the whole game now.** "

"Well I see the two of you are doing rather well." Asgore glanced over at the screen the skeleton had rigged up, looking rather confused.

" **heyo, kingo.** " The skeleton made an okay symbol with his hand, Alphys was rather annoyed he was ignoring the textbox that had just showed. " **i'm back 'n all the jazz.** "

"Well that is good to hear…" The king awkwardly glanced around the room. Papyrus waved at him. "I suppose I will be leaving now, seeing as you are both recovering."

" **alright, we'll be 'traveling' again in a week or so. gotta figure a thing or two out first.** "

"So soon?" Based on Alphys' expression one could safely guess she wasn't aware of this agreement.

" **yeah, we need to get to work. 'sides, the sooner we get on track here the better. i'm sure someone will figure out a way to explain away our absence. leave it to mettaton or someone.** "

"Well if our royal scientist has agreed with it I suppose there is no problem. You all take care of yourselves, and have a nice night."


End file.
